Will he ever learn?
by Ria the person in the shadows
Summary: Bakura is, put it bluntly, evil… maybe even a little too evil and is also very cruel to poor Ryou. Maybe that's why a divine being decides to teach him the meanings of love and good even if her techniques are a little out of the box. Co-written by YSF.
1. Prolouge to a major headache

Disclaimer: I don't own Yugioh. I wish I did, but all I own is about 200 Yugioh pictures on my walls…Most are of Bakura. (figures)

Ria: sighs okay, I know this is way overdone, but I couldn't help it. YSF had sent me this adorable kitty Bakura picture, and it inspired me.

Bakura: Why must you insist on tormenting me? First in Spirit Revolt you colored my hair…

Ria: Which was as funny as hell

Bakura: and now you are going to turn me into a cat? You better have a good plot line.

Ria: well, Nusumi ain't gonna be in this, so do you mind a little you and Ryou fluff?

Bakura: What type of fluff?

Ria: I'm not gonna spoil it baka!

Summary- Bakura is, put it bluntly, evil… maybe even a little too evil and is also very cruel to poor Ryou. Maybe that's why a divine being decides to teach him the meanings of love and good even if her techniques are a little out of the box. Co-written by YSF.

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"Hey Ryou! Wanna come with us to get a burger or something?" asked Yugi running up to Ryou after school as Ryou got on his outer shoes to go home.

Ryou stood up and faked a tired smile at his cheerful friend. "I'm sorry Yugi," he said trying to sound sincere, "I'm quite tired and not feeling all that well today, so you'll forgive me for skipping out this one time?"

"Of course, make sure you get rest though, okay?" Yugi asked.

"Naturally Yugi, have fun," Ryou said and walked off with a wave. Once out of sight, Ryou looked around and then looked at the Millennium Ring that hung around his neck. "It's clear Bakura," he said with a sigh.

Immediately the ring started glowing and a figure appeared next to Ryou. If you didn't know better, you would think that the two were twins. The only difference is that the one was the evil spirit of an ancient Egyptian tomb robber, and the other was a relatively normal and innocent British exchange student.

"It's about time," Bakura snapped, "What did the pharaoh's brat want?"

"He wanted me to go with him, Joey, and Yami to get a burger, but I told him I was sick and tired," Ryou said not looking at Bakura and continued to walk.

Bakura smirked darkly and followed. "So you were too scared to go against what I told you to do. Good little weak hikari," he mocked.

Ryou didn't reply until he had reached the front door of his house. Going in, he heard Bakura close the door behind him and come up close. Keeping his head down as he felt himself being turned, he heard Bakura chuckle.

"What's the matter? Cat got your tongue?" Bakura sneered. Ryou shot his head up and glared at Bakura. Before Bakura could act, Ryou lifted his arm and punched Bakura across the face.

Bakura turned his head with the punch to make the blow hurt less. As Ryou dropped his arm in surprise, Bakura grabbed his wrist and started squeezing.

"Bakura, please stop, you're going to break my wrist!" Ryou cried, trying to get away. Bakura ignored Ryou and only squeezed tighter and started turning Ryou's wrist.

"You know what you have to do to make me stop," Bakura hissed.

Ryou bowed his head in defeat and fell to his knees. "I'm sorry," he whispered.

"And?"

"And I'm pathetic, weak, and don't deserve your mercy," Ryou said almost silently, but Bakura heard.

"Know what?" Bakura said in Ryou's ear as he relaxed his grip on the captive wrist, but didn't let it go, "You don't deserve my mercy, but I'm going to give it to you anyway." Bakura straightened up and pulled Ryou to his feet.

Before he let go though, Bakura tightened his grip once more on Ryou's wrist and gave it a hard twist and didn't let go till he heard the telltale crack of bones snapping.

Ryou held his wrist and ran up the stairs, where he turned and stared down at Bakura from just inside his room with tears in his eyes. "I hate you, and I wish I never met you," he shouted as Bakura opened his mouth to say something. "In fact, I wish I never even got the ring!" Ryou finished and slammed the door to his room.

Bakura raised an eyebrow and merely headed down to the basement where he slept when he didn't feel like returning to the Millennium Ring. Flopping on his bed, the spirit stared at the ceiling and sighed. "Stupid hikari," he muttered brushing his silver hair out of his eyes. "Knowing him, he's going to get the pharaoh in his corner as always and I'm going to end up spending about a week in the shadow realm before I actually decide to leave through my secret portal," Bakura chuckled after a minute.

_'That, will be the least of your problems.' _Came an echoing voice.

Bakura shot up straight. "Who's there? Show yourself," he growled scanning his room with his eyes.

_'I'm merely a divine being who's been watching you for quite a while,' _The voice replied as a bright light appeared towards one end of the room and took on the form of a female with long hair and a flowing outfit.

"What do you mean by the least of my problems?" Bakura demanded as the light subsided.

_'Well the name's Maria, and I'm here to help/make you realize just how cruel you're being to such an innocent creature and until I'm done, the shadow realm will be the least of your worries,' _the girl replied tucking her long brown bangs behind her ears.

"That hikari of mine is too weak. He's easy to push around. I'm trying to toughen him up."

_'Ever think that might be because of the fear you impose on him?'_ Maria shot back. At this Bakura was at a loss for words. Seeing this, Maria continued.

_'I now know what I'm going to do with you. Good thing my superiors gave me permission to do what I want since you're dead already,'_ Maria laughed as she started to glow.

"What are you doing to me!?" Bakura demanded in surprise as he also started glowing and levitated off the bed a little. Maria strode over to Bakura and reached out a hand towards him.

_'Giving you a taste of your own medicine, and just so you know, you won't change back till you truly learn your lesson,'_ Maria replied, her sapphire eyes flashing.

Bakura was about to ask what she meant by 'change back,' but as he opened his mouth, Maria's fingers brushed his forehead and he crumpled to the bed unconscious.

Maria looked on as the glow surrounding Bakura flared and then faded after a minute. _'Good, it worked. Tomorrow begins your lesson in gentleness Tomb Robber, and I think I'm going to watch this to see how it plays out,'_ Maria said to herself before fading from sight.

A few hours later, Ryou poked his head through the front door and crept quietly into the house. About a half-hour after Ryou had slammed the door to his room, he had called Yugi and asked if Yugi's grandfather could drive him to the hospital on the account that he had tripped and fell down the stairs and possibly broke his wrist. Now he was quietly going up the stairs so Bakura wouldn't hear him, his arm in a cast and held protectively in a sling.

Curling up on his bed, Ryou remembered how Yami had suspiciously looked at Ryou's wrist and muttering something about the break not being an accident, settled for losing himself in his thoughts instead of trying to get the truth out of Ryou. Closing his eyes, Ryou fell into a sleep that was for once peaceful.

Bakura's P.O.V. -

Somehow before I woke up, I could tell it was morning. My head throbbing, I remembered that girl from the previous afternoon and how she spoke cryptically about a lesson of sorts. Trying to reach the back of my head to massage the pulsing spot, I frowned when my arms didn't seem to bend that way. Opening my eyes, I looked down and saw that my arms turned a fuzzy gray color. Suddenly, I felt myself be picked up by two hands.

_'Good morning Bakura,' _a giant version of Maria said looking into my eyes.

/What did you do to me?/ I snarled surprised that I wasn't actually talking, and that I was being easily picked up by an apparition. Maria just smiled and walked to a mirror that Ryou had insisted stay down there. Looking into the mirror, my eyes widened and I scrambled backwards on all fours. In the reflection, stood Maria, and in her hands was a small gray kitten with dark brown, almost black eyes and a notch in the right ear.

/Am I…/

_'The kitten? Yes, now you be able to learn just how defenseless you really are inside. The only good part, is that in about a month, you'll grow to be a full-sized cat, and you'll hopefully learn your lesson before that,'_ Maria explained, a smile tugging at the corners of her mouth.

I tried to hiss at her, but all that came out was a stream of air. Sulking, I suddenly felt myself be put on the bed hurriedly as we both heard footsteps approaching the basement door.

_'Remember, I'm going to be around checking up on you,'_ Maria whispered before vanishing from human sight.

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Ria: reads over the chapter not bad. I don't know which way to make this turn. I'll leave it up to you guys. Do you want Yaoi or non-yaoi? I will have fun either way. Review and tell me!


	2. first day

Ria: my next chapter! Here we go!

/Blah/ Bakura to Maria or Ryou

Blah Ryou to Bakura

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Bakura's P.O.V.

"Bakura?" Ryou called cautiously down the stairs, "Aren't you coming up? I have to leave for school soon." Hearing no answer from me as I tried to find a place to hide, Ryou descended down the stairs and walked over to where my bed was located and stopped dead in his tracks. Where he was expecting to see me as a human, he instead saw me as a little gray kitten sitting on the bed, looking agitated.

"Is that you Bakura?" Ryou asked hesitantly. I nodded and jumped off the bed and sat on the floor looking up at Ryou expectantly.

Ryou scooped me up with his good arm and headed up to the kitchen. "You know," Ryou said rubbing the white streak that I noticed was on my head when I looked in the mirror, "I sort of think you look cute as a kitten."

I let out another air hiss to get the point across that I wasn't happy with his remark before I was set down on the table and Ryou walked off to return a minute later with a dish of milk. Milk? I have never liked its taste, though a part of me wanted it. Great, that "almighty being" failed to tell me that I would pick up this body's habits. Finally giving in to the yearning hunger, I reluctantly lapped at the milk and found that it tasted quite good.

_'Just one of the little kitten needs that you'll experience. I'm not almighty…just divine, and I didn't forget either, I merely chose to see how you would deal with urges and wants that your body will give off as they come,'_ Maria said from where she was standing off to the side.

/What are you doing here? Can't Ryou see you?" I asked. Maria just smiled as Ryou noticed me staring and looked in the same direction.

"What are you looking at 'Kura?" Ryou asked quizzically, "There's nothing there."

_'Did I mention that felines are more attuned to the supernatural and can see apparitions that humans can't?'_

/No, you left that out just like not telling me that I have no choice but to act like a kitten most of the time!/

Normal P.O.V. -

"Come on Bakura, I don't want to be late," Ryou said putting the remaining milk in the fridge for later and scooped the kitten up again. This time Bakura didn't want to be held, so he started scratching and "biting" the cast on Ryou's right arm. Ryou got the message and set him down in his nearly empty school bag and shut it securely before the kitten could jump out, but left an air hole that Bakura could put his nose and mouth through, but nothing else.

"There is no way that I'm letting you run around trashing my house all day, for thanks to you, I can't exactly clean or do much else for that matter," Ryou snapped as Bakura used his new-found ability to mew pitifully. Bakura stopped mewing and Ryou could tell Bakura was doing the equivalent of sulking. Smiling about the fact that

he had just won a battle with Bakura, Ryou headed out of the door quite content with himself.

Bakura got bored during the walk to school, so he started poking around Ryou's bag. Rubbing up against something soft, Bakura grabbed hold with his teeth and pulled at the object, working it loose in the semi-darkness. Finally getting it free, Bakura saw from the air hole that it was Ryou's scarf that he kept in his bag for some reason or another. Jumping on top of the scarf, he impulsively wrestled with it and then shifting it into a nest once he tired of playing, curled up and fell asleep.

An hour later, Ryou sat in class wondering why Bakura hadn't made a peep for a while now. During the walk, Ryou had felt the bag moving as Bakura did something in there that obviously kept him occupied for a while. When the teacher left the room for a minute, Ryou quickly lifted his bag onto his lap and opening it a little farther, looked inside. Inside, Bakura was curled up on his scarf asleep. He looked so cute, that Ryou wanted to pet him, but quickly narrowed the hole again and put the bag on the floor as the teacher returned.

At lunch, Ryou knew Bakura would be hungry, so he bought some milk and a sandwich that he would share with Bakura. Sitting next to Yami, Ryou put his lunch down and started 'rummaging' through his bag.

"Ryou? What are you doing?" asked Malik.

"Get back here you little… ouch!" Ryou said ignoring Malik, "You bit me…fine, starve then."

"What's in there?" Marik asked now that everyone's attention was on Ryou's bag. As if on cue, a mewing came from Ryou's bag.

"Fine, if he'll stay still, I'll show you guys," Ryou said reaching in his bag again. After another minute of rummaging, Ryou pulled out a wriggling gray fluffball, which on closer inspection, was a gray kitten being held by the scruff of the neck.

"When did you get a kitten?" Seto asked calmly going back to his lunch.

"I had no choice. This kitten is Bakura," Ryou said setting Bakura down and pouring some of the milk into a jar lid that he had taken from home. Immediately, Bakura started drinking the milk and purring, ignoring the surprised looks that everyone gave him.

"That's Bakura?! What did he do this time?" Yami asked trying not to laugh.

Bakura stopped drinking and stared at Yami with a 'why do you care numbskull?' look.

_'Now Bakura, you better drop that attitude if you want to transform back to normal soon,'_ Maria said to Bakura from where she was sitting in a nearby tree.

/bugger off/

_'Suit yourself. I hope you come to grips soon, for my other charges grew too attached to their forms and were reluctant to change back,'_ Maria warned before disappearing again.

Bakura rolled his eyes and calmly accepted a bite of meat from Ryou. 'Maybe he's not that bad,' Bakura thought, 'Wait, what am I thinking?! This body has definitely screwed up my mind.'

"So, how long till Bakura changes back?" Yugi asked while Malik and Yami snuck off to behind the tree, both wearing identical mischievous grins.

Ryou looked at Bakura and Bakura looked back with a blank expression. "I don't know. The mind link collapsed, so we can't quite communicate, but I do know that he hates any cat activities/habits," Ryou said as Yami and Malik returned.

Bakura just sat in the grass watching the group eat, when a few minutes later, his attention was captured by a string landing not far from him. Trying to ignore it, he suddenly pounced on it as it slipped away from him, causing him to chase the string that Malik was pulling.

After a minute of scampering, Bakura stopped chasing the string and started climbing up onto Malik's shoulder. Mentally grinning when Malik ignored him, Bakura bit down hard on the Egyptian's ear. That got his attention.

"Ryou! Get him off!" Malik said trying to pull the kitten off before he was given a new piercing but was having no luck since Bakura dug his claws into Malik's outfit for a better grip.

Ryou reached over and unhooked Bakura's claws from Malik's jacket. Then, keeping a firm hold on Bakura, Ryou forced Bakura's mouth open and pulled the kitten away from Malik's ear.

"That little bastard," Malik growled looking at the kitten, who had a smug expression on. That expression quickly turned to surprise as Ryou shoved him into the bag and quickly shut it enough so Bakura couldn't escape.

"What are you going to do to him?" Yami asked as he watched the bag shift slightly as Bakura attempted to escape.

"He's staying in my bag. I don't know what else to do with him," Ryou admitted as the bell rang.

For the next few periods, Bakura laid on the scarf trying to think of a way out of this hellhole and/or get Ryou into trouble. Suddenly, looking up at the air slot in the zipper, Bakura's little brain formed a plan. Climbing up the books in the bag, Bakura put his paws up just below the hole and started nudging the zipper with his nose, widening the hole ever so slightly.

Finally getting the hole wide enough, Bakura poked his head out and glanced around at his surroundings. Pausing at the sight of Maria watching him through the window, he laughed mentally and sent a mental smirk towards the apparition. /You know, you're going to have to try harder to get me to behave. You just made the world one big playground,/ he taunted zipping down into the bag again after seeing Maria's confused expression.

Ryou sat at his desk reading and not noticing this, when he heard an all too familiar mewing coming from his bag, which the quiet room seemed to amplify. Seeing the teacher look in his direction, he gave the bag a soft kick and the mewing promptly stopped as Bakura fell off the books.

"Mr. Bakura, what is that sound?" the teacher asked. Ryou hung his head.

"I-I don't know Sensei-sama," he replied quietly. Yami looked up from his book and shot a questioning look in Ryou's direction.

"Well, make sure it doesn't happen again," the teacher said striding away. He hadn't gone five steps before he heard mewing again. "Empty your bag this instant Ryou," he said turning.

When Ryou heard this, he paled but brought his bag onto his desk. As he unzipped the bag, he jumped back in surprise as Bakura leaped out and darted away.

_'Oh man,'_ Maria thought watching as the class became chaos as everyone tried to catch the kitten, _'I have to find a solution fast before **I** get in trouble.' _Pressing her fingers against the window, she grinned as time and everyone froze where they were except for her and a certain kitten.

_'Come out Bakura,'_ she commanded, _'You and I need to have a little talk.'_

"What did you do to them?" asked a human form Bakura emerging on all fours. Then, realizing how he looked, quickly stood up straight.

_'I froze time so that we could talk easier,'_ Maria calmly replied. Bakura huffed and sat on a desk.

"I'm listening," Bakura said taking a moment to look Maria over. The said apparition, now that a light wasn't radiating from her, was quite pretty. Her hair held a silky shimmer to it, and her eyes looked like sapphires were shoved into her eyes. Her body wasn't that bad either, Bakura mused letting his eyes wander up to her face. Bakura hadn't noticed it earlier, but Maria had three stars on her forehead as if she were wearing a clear crown with stunning star shaped diamonds. The middle star was currently glowing which was how Maria was controlling the time freeze.

_'Stop checking me out,'_ Maria calmly said,_ 'This isn't a game. I'm trying to help you, and you're basically spitting in my face.'_

"I don't need help!" Bakura snapped. Immediately, the ex-thief saw the hurt in Maria's expression and felt sort of guilty.

_'Do you know why I'm doing this?'_ she asked. Bakura shook his head and Maria held out her hand towards him. _'Let me show you,'_ she pleaded.

Bakura hesitated and then took Maria's hand. Immediately, their surroundings changed to a night scene and they were up in the air above what Bakura recognized was Ryou's place.

_'I know I'm going to sound like one of those ghosts from a Christmas Carol, but watch what Ryou has done for the past year ever night,'_ Maria said gesturing. Bakura floated down and entered Ryou's room as Ryou entered and headed to the window, a trickle of blood coming from his nose.

"I don't understand what's going on with my yami, but I'm worried about him. I wish someone or something would give him a second chance and teach him that innocence isn't as bad as he assumes," Ryou murmured, staring at the starry sky, "I know Bakura isn't all that bad even though he hits me and vents his frustration on me. If anyone is listening, please help Bakura and give him a second chance."

Bakura felt slightly sick, so he left and rejoined Maria who was floating where she hadn't moved. _'There's more who were a little less emotional but I heard them just the same. One may actually surprise you even though he was talking more to himself than to the night sky,' _Maria said looking at Bakura.

"I want to see it."

_'Very well,'_ Maria said taking Bakura's hand again as the setting dissolved, _'this one was actually from last night, after I transformed you.'_

Bakura looked down as blinked in surprise as he spotted the Game Shop below. "The Pharaoh's brat?"

_'No, the pharaoh. Listen for yourself.'_

Bakura listened and picked up on Yami's voice.

"Damn it all Tomb Robber," Yami muttered, "Why do you have to be so cruel? I know Ryou's broken wrist was caused by you, and not by his alibi. Why won't you change for the better? I know you weren't like that in Egypt. I remember when we used to be friends when we were little. You were actually the sensible one… Why am I even saying this? My friend, the Bakura I knew, is gone, and he's probably too big-headed to realize what he's doing and change."

"I-I don't want to see anymore," Bakura said looking away. Maria nodded and brought them back to the classroom.

_'You still have a bit to go before the spell will change you back, so finish your fun. I have things to do,' _Maria said as she changed Bakura back into a kitten and he went back to a hiding place. Maria unfroze time as Ryou slid to a halt right in front of the teacher and looked up as the class grew silent and still.

"Detention Ryou," the teacher said as Bakura jumped onto Ryou's head. Peering over Ryou's head to look into his hikari's eyes, Bakura "smirked" as he saw Ryou somewhat sulking knowing his revenge had been a sweet success.

After detention, Ryou took Bakura into downtown. Walking into a pet shop, Ryou approached the man at the counter. "Excuse me sir, I just got a kitten for my birthday and I need a collar for him," Ryou said pulling Bakura out of his bag. The man looked at Bakura and pulled a handful of collars out of a box.

"Take your pick," The storekeeper said gesturing to the assorted colors. Ryou looked them over and selected a red one that came with a matching leash. Paying for the set, Ryou exited and headed home. Reaching home, Ryou set Bakura down and holding the kitten still, slipped the collar over his head and tightened it.

"You're not going anywhere," Ryou said looping the leash around the leg of the table and fastening it to Bakura's collar. Bakura ran towards the basement, but got tugged backwards as he ran out of slack.

"I'm sorry," Ryou said petting Bakura's head, "But I have to discipline you somehow."

Bakura curled up miserably on the floor after Ryou left the kitchen and drifted off to sleep. He awoke sometime later to feel himself being wrapped in something soft. Opening his eyes, Bakura saw Ryou tucking the scarf around him as he was held in Ryou's lap, the collar gone from his neck.

Ryou smiled seeing his yami awake and petted Bakura. Watching Bakura purr, Ryou knew this was Bakura's second chance that he had asked for. "Sleepy?" he asked the kitten. Bakura let out a tiny mew and snuggled against Ryou's sweater and went back to sleep as a response. Ryou, noticing that it was getting late, picked the sleeping kitten up and carried him up to bed.

About two weeks passed and Bakura started to grow, even though he was still a kitten. Ryou let Bakura roam off the leash while he went for a daily walk, letting Bakura get reacquainted with nature.

Bakura was sniffing a rose bush that grew near the sidewalk when Ryou heard barking. Looking around, he saw a dog loping towards Bakura barking fiercely. Bakura, spotting the dog, ran. Running up a tree, Bakura crouched on a middle height branch, where he knew the dog couldn't reach, though it was making a damn good attempt.

"HEY!" Ryou shouted running up to the dog, "Leave my cat alone!"

As natural, the dog ignored Ryou and continued barking up the tree. Ryou, seeing his shouting was futile, picked up a small rock and threw it with amazing accuracy at the dog's rump. "Get out of here!" Ryou yelled, chasing the dog off. Going back to the tree, Ryou peered up in the branches and spotted Bakura. "Come on down Bakura, the coast is clear."

Bakura didn't budge. Ryou kept coaxing and finally heard the faintest, /I-I can't./

Bakura? Is that you?

/Yeah, I can't come down. Cat's don't like heights all that much. Come to think of it, neither do I./ Bakura's voice was weak and faint. Ryou knew he had to get Bakura down quick before the tomb robber fainted or something.

Can't you jump?

/Can you catch me?/

Of course Ryou replied holding his arms open. Bakura shoved the cat mind into the back of his head and jumped, counting on Ryou to catch him. Feeling arms close around him, Bakura relaxed and climbed to lay around Ryou's neck.

"If the mind link is back, do you think that you'll be changed back soon?" Ryou asked starting to head home as Bakura yawned.

/I suppose so. Your guess is as good as mine./ Bakura replied.

That night, Bakura opened his eyes and looked up from where he was curled up on Ryou's bed. Heading out of the room, Bakura wandered down towards the living room and froze, his whiskers trembling. Something was in there. Creeping around the corner, Bakura relaxed as he saw it was only Maria. Leaping lightly onto the window sill, he looked at her. /Aren't you trespassing?/

_'Not if I'm an apparition,'_

/Damn./

'Want a break from that form?' Maria asked. Before Bakura could reply, the third star on Maria's forehead glowed and he transformed from cat to human.

_'Better?'_ Maria slimed.

"Much. How much longer do I have to remain a cat before I can return to my old body?" Bakura asked, his voice raw and scratchy from not being used.

_'Well you're making excellent progress; however, you haven't fully proved yourself to the spell yet,'_ Maria said.

"I'm going back to bed," Bakura grumbled. Maria nodded her consent and removed them from the realm that they had entered so Bakura could be a human for a while. Bakura trotted back up to Ryou's room and saw Ryou tossing and turning, tears streaming down his face.

'He's having nightmares. It's all my fault. If I hadn't been so foolish, I would never have done this,' Bakura thought jumping up on the bed and nuzzling Ryou's face. Slowly Ryou calmed down and opened his eyes, smiling slightly at Bakura.

"I'm sorry 'Kura."

/For what?/

Ryou smiled a little wider and rubbed his eyes. "I woke you up," he answered.

Bakura felt himself be scooped up and he rubbed his head against Ryou. /Go back to sleep hikari./ Bakura said bluntly.

Ryou laid back down, but kept hold of Bakura. "Goodnight," Ryou murmured, his eyes sliding closed.

/Ryou? Hey! I'm not a plushie, so let me go!/

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Ria: no one has reviewed yet and that makes me sad. I have been spending my time on this because unlikely parenthood and Spirit revolt have run dry on ideas and plot. If anyone has any ideas for any of my fics, review and let me know and I'll be forever grateful and give you credit of course.


	3. I think he's starting to get it

Ria: I have a review! Yay! Sami, Sami, Sami. sigh I read your review, and I understand what you're talking about. I only said that Maria is "divine," because she has the power to meddle with people's lives. Trust me on this. I'm not Christian either; I just needed something powerful, so my brother suggested a goddess-like creature. She's more modeled after the constellation Orion hence the three stars on her forehead. (Sorry YSF) If you want to really know what Maria's like, read basically any one of the fics except for Forgotten Pasts written by YamiShiningFriendship.

YSF: I still have that up? goes to look O.O that's a bad fic… my first to be precise.

Ria: YSF, go work on your fics and leave me to mine.

YSF: XP leaves

Ria: sigh I guess this will be Yaoi. You no like, you no read, though nuffink bad…yet. I'm going to skip time a bit like I slightly did last chappie.

/Blah/ Bakura to Maria or Ryou

Blah Ryou to Bakura

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Ryou laid back down, but kept hold of Bakura. "Goodnight," Ryou murmured, his eyes sliding closed.

/Ryou? Hey! I'm not a plushie, so let me go!/

After two more weeks, Bakura had grown into a full-sized house cat. He wanted to change back, though, because now that he was being nicer, feelings that he had suppressed a long time ago came bubbling back to the surface, and it drove him nuts.

"Bakura, I'm leaving for school now," Ryou called entering the living room. Bakura stretched and leaped down from the couch gracefully.

/I want to come with you./

"You can't silly, you're too big," Ryou said with a smile kneeling down and scratching Bakura behind the ears. Bakura tried once again to suppress the pleasure he got when Ryou did that, but as usual failed as Ryou started scratching his chin.

/Ryou, stop,/ Bakura said with a little hint of a whine as he started purring loudly. Ryou complied and slipping the collar around Bakura's neck, scooped Bakura in his arms and headed out the door.

/I thought you said I couldn't come,/ Bakura thought, looking up at Ryou.

"You can't come in the building with me as you did that one time, but if you stay outside and don't get in trouble, I'll bring you lunch," Ryou explained.

/Sounds like a plan…/ Bakura stopped mid-sentence as his sharpened hearing picked up footsteps that fell in a stalking pattern.

Bakura? What's wrong? Ryou asked through the mind link as Bakura began growling and hissing quietly. Bakura turned his head so his eyes stared straight into Ryou's eyes.

Just as he was about to reply, a hand grabbed Ryou's shoulder and spun him around, making him lose his grip on Bakura, who jumped out of his arms.

"Well lookie who we managed to catch up with boys," the thug said as his cronies came up, "Our favorite punching bag."

"P-Please, leave me alone," Ryou pleaded, wondering why they would pick on him since they hadn't for a while now.

"Hey boss, how about we teach the sissy to toughen up and stop st-st-stuttering," one of the thugs said as the others laughed.

"Good idea," the boss said and drawing back his fist, punched Ryou in the gut.

Bakura let out a hiss as he watched Ryou get hit over and over from on top of the wall they were next to. /Maria, help me out! Turn me long enough to help Ryou!/ Bakura shouted at the sky

_'What? Not happy with seeing how you used to be? I'm not sure if the spell I know will work,'_ Maria admitted appearing into thin air, _'but I'll try.'_ The three stars glowing, Maria summoned energy and Bakura surrounded himself in it, immediately starting to transform.

The thugs closed around Ryou, who was now in the ground gasping for air. Just as they were about to finish Ryou off, a small rock flew from behind them and hit the leader on the head. Turning, the gang saw a person standing behind them tossing another stone up and down. What creeped them out the most, was even though the figure was in broad light, shadow clung to his form like skin, making him the black and purple of the Shadow Realm, his eyes glimmering in their evil way.

"I suggest you leave the boy alone before I have to harm you," the figure snarled moving in between the thugs and Ryou. Ryou tilted his head and looked at the 3D silhouette.

"Bakura?" he whispered. The figure didn't seem to hear him, but launched himself at the thugs. It was a matter of seconds before the thugs hit the ground, all unconscious and the figure returned to Ryou.

"Are you alright Ryou?" the figure asked in Bakura's voice. Ryou smiled and hugged Bakura.

"I am now, did the spell wear off or something?"

Bakura looked down at his body and shut his eyes for a minute. "This is only temporary. I'm still a cat, but the apparition who transformed me in the first place, gave me a temporary version of my body if I helped you out," Bakura said, grinning so that his canines showed.

"Bakura! Your body!" Ryou exclaimed as it looked like Bakura started smoking.

"Don't worry hikari, the spell is just wearing off," Bakura explained stopping Ryou's protesting with a kiss. Ryou was so surprised, that he just sat there, and then enjoyed himself and kissed back. As he felt Bakura's lips disappear after a minute, Ryou opened his eyes and looked down to see Bakura sitting in his lap as a cat again, a smug expression on his face. Seeing he was alright, Ryou looked the feline over and started laughing.

/What?/ demanded Bakura.

Ryou just shook his head, suppressing his laughter. "It's nothing. Come on, let's go before I'm late," Ryou said striding off, Bakura jogging close behind, collar tags clinking.

At lunchtime, Ryou bought a chicken lunch and headed over to the usual spot by the tree. As soon as he and the gang sat down, Bakura leaped from the bottom branch and gazed expectantly at the hot chicken. Munching on a piece that Ryou gave him, Bakura was suddenly aware of laughter.

/Ryou, what are they laughing about?/ Bakura once again demanded. Ryou translated it to the group and they started laughing harder. Finally, Téa pulled a mirror out of her bag and held it in front of Bakura. Bakura, seeing his reflection, was shocked. Instead of a white streak down his head that flowed to his shoulder blades, that streak was now hair that spiked just like his.

"You're starting to return to normal," Yami said.

"I guess as you do good deeds, the spell that you're under will transform you back to normal bit by bit," Ryou said running his fingers through what could now be considered as Bakura's hair.

/Joy. Do you realize that I'm going to have to do about a hundred good deeds just to get my body back?/ Bakura asked agitatedly.

I'm sure there's a quicker way, Ryou mentally soothed. Bakura just glared and went back to eating his chicken.

After the others returned to class, Bakura sat on the bottom branch of the tree, since he wasn't afraid of that height. He had been sitting there for quite a while before sensing a familiar presence. /Hello Maria,/ he said idly as the apparition appeared on an opposite branch.

_'Hello Bakura,'_ Maria returned, _'have fun with your temporary body?'_

/Not nearly enough as I would have liked. I've been wondering though. If you're a divine being, what realm are you from since I highly doubt that it's heaven?/ Bakura asked lying down on the branch.

Maria appeared thoughtful. _'I really don't know what the realm is called. I just know that my powers are drawn from it and my title among the others is the only light in eternal darkness. I come from where everything is dark and usually evil,'_ she explained.

/Then you're a shadow./ Bakura answered propping himself up at the realization that he was in the presence of a powerful being indeed.

_'A what?'_

/A shadow is what runs the shadow realm. They are creatures that are normally evil and/or are full of dark thoughts and control a tremendous amount of power. The Shadow Realm as you know, is dark, and evil is sent there to be contained, even though I've escaped from the shadows many times,/ Bakura explained.

_'But, I'm not dark,'_ Maria protested, _'Though, that could sort of explain my title.'_

/How's that?/

_'Well, I'm called the only light in eternal darkness because even though I derive my power from the Shadow Realm, it is unlike anything that the other shadows have seen. My power is a white power while the other's powers are black. I'm like…'_ Maria trailed off at a loss for an analogy.

/A heavenly angel in Hell?/

_'Exactly. That's why I'm also called a divine being by most, because I'm unique. I wonder why that is,'_ Maria said running a finger over her middle star.

/There has to be a Ying to every Yang, meaning your powers equal all of the normal shadow's powers combined, which also means you don't even know how to control them all,/ Bakura idly said with a hint of amusement.

_'I should go ask my superiors about this,'_ Maria said fading from sight. Bakura just laid back down on the branch and managed to fall asleep.

"Bakura? Bakura wake up," came a soft voice in Bakura's ear. Bakura's ear twitched and Bakura woke up slightly and looked sleepily at Ryou who had climbed the tree to sit next to him.

/What is it?/ Bakura asked with a yawn.

"Come on sleepy, school's over and unless you want to get stuck in the rain, I suggest we go now because the rain is going to start any minute," Ryou replied scooping his yami up and leaping out of the tree. Unfortunately, the skies opened up and poured down on the two when they hadn't gone more than a block.

Bakura curled up in Ryou's coat, but was still miserable considering school jackets don't make good protection from water. Hearing mumbled curses, Bakura looked up. /And you're supposed to be the innocent one./

"I'm just frustrated that we're far from home and that this downpour doesn't look like it's going let up soon," Ryou explained, tightening his grip on the soaked cat and started running.

/Isn't the game shop nearby?/ Bakura asked suddenly as Ryou stepped wrong and jolted him. Ryou stopped and looked at Bakura.

"You're right, it's closer than our house. You don't mind going there, do you?" Ryou asked.

/At this point, I'm too wet to care./ Bakura replied as Ryou started running again.

A few minutes later, Yami sat boredly at the window seat, watching the rain, idly aware that the rest of the group was behind him in the living room, laughing about something, oblivious to the fact that their plans were ruined.

"Yugi, get some towels," he said suddenly darting up and grabbing his coat.

"Why?" Yugi asked looking up from his duel with Malik.

"Ryou's outside and he's soaked and shivering," Yami replied grabbing an umbrella after getting his boots on and heading outside.

"Yugi," Marik calmly said taking Malik's deck and inspecting it as Yugi stood up, "Bakura's most likely with him. I remember from Egypt, that when cats get wet, their fur retains tons of water. I'd suggest grabbing several towels."

Yugi complied and returned with the towels as Ryou and Yami entered with Bakura shivering in the pharaoh's arms, his fur plastered to his body.

"What were you doing out in the rain?" Malik asked helping Ryou out of his jacket as Yami set Bakura down.

"It's not like I had much of a choice," Ryou said accepting a towel for his hair, "I couldn't find Bakura since he was sleeping, and then we got a block away from the school before it started raining so we headed here since it's closer."

/Hey! I'm soaked too, what about me?/ Bakura asked looking up at Ryou from the floor. Malik, seeing the look, picked him up and started rubbing him dry.

"Well, we better find some clothes for you Ryou," Yami said, "I may have some jeans that'll fit you." Ryou nodded and followed Yami up the stairs. Yugi disappeared into the kitchen with Joey and when Ryou and Yami returned, brought out mugs of hot chocolate for them all.

Bakura sat licking his paws dry, but stopped when he smelled the chocolate. Knowing that cats couldn't stomach chocolate, he sighed and resumed drying his paws slightly disappointed.

"Oh, I forgot one!" Yugi said jumping up and going into the kitchen. Bakura just had time to wonder what he meant before a bowl of warm milk was set in front of him.

"Even cats need to warm up," Yugi explained petting Bakura's damp fur.

See? The 'Pharaoh's brat' isn't so bad after all, now is he? Ryou chided with a mental laugh.

Bakura looked up from his milk and then resumed drinking. /Maybe, maybe not./

You're going to stay a cat if you keep such negative thoughts.

/Damn it all Ryou! You're starting to sound like that shadow who transformed me in the first place. She keeps reminding me of that./ Bakura snapped.

Ryou just turned away from Bakura and bit his lip. Marik noted this and wondered what they were talking about. Bakura finished his milk and had resumed licking his fur when he felt Marik wrap his cloak around him.

"I'm going to find something that will dry Bakura's fur faster," Marik explained picking the cat up and heading upstairs. Entering the guestroom, Marik loosened his grip as Bakura wriggled out of his arms and sat on the soft carpet.

/So what did you want to talk to me about since you're too stupid to think of some other excuse, and I know you can hear me if I direct my thought to you,/ Bakura asked slightly cross.

"I want to know why you're being so cruel to Ryou. He cares about you," Marik said shutting the door quietly and facing Bakura.

/It's my nature you ass,/ Bakura snapped, /I wasn't brought up to be all goody-goody. Sure I'm a lot nicer than I normally am, but I'm not made to be an angel./

_'Marik's right you know,'_ Maria said gently, coming out of thin air, _'Ryou cares about you more than I've seen anyone care about you. Are you really willing to continue to act mean to him even if he's trying to help you transform?'_

/Aren't you supposed to appear only when I'm alone?/ Bakura asked idly.

"I can see her," Marik said, "In fact, she's the one who convinced me to change my ways…and hook me up with Malik."

/By changing you into a five-year-old who could talk instead of meow or use the mind link,/ Bakura retorted.

_'Look Bakura, I know the way you can change back, but there's a catch. That's why I came to you, and that's why Marik brought you here since he owes me as it is,'_ Maria said nervously shifting from one foot to the other.

/What is it?/ Bakura asked, the anger and bitterness draining from his body upon seeing their solemn faces.

"Well, when Maria temporarily changed you, she didn't know it at first, but the spell put basically a timer on your ability to transform back. If that time runs out…" Marik trailed off and turned away.

/What's going to happen if that time runs out?/ Bakura asked a little nervously.

Maria looked at him, and Bakura saw that there were tears in her eyes. _'Bakura, if that time runs out in a week and a half, you won't be able to transform back ever. Your hair will reduce back to a white streak, and you will live a life as a cat,'_ she explained.

/That doesn't sound so bad,/ Bakura replied.

"That is the good part of the catch. The bad part, is that you will live much longer than Ryou, so this is basically your last chance to transform," Marik said.

/But how do I change back?/ Bakura demanded.

_'Your heart will tell you,'_ was all Maria said before she disappeared.

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Ria: he he, I left it at a cliffie for a reason. It's up to you to decide what Bakura's going to do. Will he take Maria's advice and listen to his heart ASAP, or will he wait till the last minute to realize what he has to do? You decide and review while I go torment YSF to work on her fics… lazy bum. leaves


	4. fun and games

Ria: Why do I have a feeling that if I keep plugging away at this pace, I'll end up ending this story quicker than I intend? Ah screw it. I'll keep typing if people keep reading and hopefully reviewing.

Sami, just like you've never had someone reply so excitedly to your reviews, I've never had someone write such a lengthy review. I liked it though. As I was reading it, my eyes just kept widening as I reached the 15th line and on. I didn't realize people love to write a lot… not like it's a bad thing of course.

YSF: snorts then again, Ria doesn't realize much… does she?

Ria: glares We're one and the same you idiot! You just…

YSF: sweatdrops and cover's Ria's mouth, stopping her from continuing You promised not to say anything… Anyway, _WE_ both love yaoi, but I've got too many fans who would leave me should I write Yaoi, so Ria does it for me. We've never seen that movie. Bakura was just exaggerating. Coincidence? Yeah, because we don't watch movies except for anime ones.

Ria: breaks free Yaoi rocks! happy dance

YSF: sweatdrops again and leaves the room, mumbling something about a sugar supply

/Blah/ Bakura to Maria or Ryou

Blah Ryou to Bakura

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_'Your heart will tell you,'_ was all Maria said before she disappeared. Bakura lunged for her, but missed since she was already gone. Marik picked him up and carried him back downstairs and put the now dry cat on Ryou's lap.

Ryou saw that his yami wasn't happy about something, so he picked Bakura up and hugged him.

Are you alright? Ryou asked petting his head.

/Just brooding about something that the apparition told me recently/ Bakura replied curling up on Ryou's lap and flexed his claws, kneading Ryou's thigh. Sighing, Bakura drifted off into a nap in which he wondered what Maria had meant by his heart telling him what he needed to do.

A while later the rain stopped, so Ryou headed home, Bakura still sleeping, this time cradled in Ryou's arms. Reaching home, Ryou went up to his room and put Bakura on the pillows and covered him with a light blanket. Going down to the kitchen then, Ryou started making tea when he felt someone or something watching him.

"W-Who's there?" he asked turning and seeing no one, even though he could feel the gaze.

_'Relax little Ryou, I merely came to talk,'_ came a voice.

"Show yourself then," Ryou said looking around the kitchen.

_'Very well. You actually know me, but only because Bakura speaks so often of me,' _a girl said materializing apparently out of thin air.

"Are you the apparition that transformed Bakura?" Ryou asked.

_'Yes I am. My name is Maria. I'm one of the many shadows who watch over the Shadow Realm,'_ Maria said with a smile.

"Then why are you white?"

_'My, you ask a lot of questions,'_ Maria replied with a laugh, _'I'm white mainly because of you.'_ Seeing Ryou's look, Maria sighed and elaborated. _'When you were first sent to the Shadow Realm, I was created. Originally, the Shadow Realm was a holding place for evil. Every evil person has a shadow, who torments them to no end when they are sent there. You, on the other hand, are good, pure, and innocent, so you weren't assigned a shadow. Instead, I was created to protect you from the other shadows. I was given strength and power every time someone good and/or innocent was sent there for obscure reasons. You, Mai, Malik, Yugi, and his friends plus many others formed me, so I'm returning the favor anyway I can. Now it's my turn to ask you a question, which is the reason of my visiting. Do you love Bakura?'_ she asked sitting on the table.

Ryou furrowed his brow in thought and returned to making his tea. "I do love him," he started slowly, "but I don't know if he loves me back or just…"

_'Lusts?'_ Maria finished for him. Seeing Ryou nod, she smiled softly and stood. _'Listen. I'd like to stay, but I'm a little pressed for time, and so is Bakura as a cat. When I temporarily changed Bakura, I didn't know it at first, but the spell put basically a timer on his ability to transform back. When that time runs out in a week and a half, Bakura won't be able to transform back ever. The hair that he earned this morning will reduce back to a white streak, and he will be forced to live a life as a cat who will be cursed with an unnaturally long life…longer than a normal human's and won't return to his human spirit form until the cat body dies.'_ Maria bit her lip after the explanation and looked away.

"What do I need to do?" Ryou asked cautiously taking Maria's hand. Maria looked at him surprised and then smiled in understanding.

_'I figured if you knew Bakura's "cure", you'd help him,'_ Maria replied brushing away a tear that had threatened to fall out of her eye, _'In order to return to normal, Bakura needs to realize what you truly mean to him. I need you to help him reach it, for at his current rate, Bakura's going to remain a cat for a very long time,'_ Maria instructed.

Ryou nodded in acceptance and Maria disappeared. Getting his tea, Ryou headed back up to his room and saw Bakura looking at him with half lidded eyes, apparently having just woken up.

/What's that/ Bakura asked.

"Tea," Ryou replied lowering it so that Bakura could look in the cup. Bakura made as best of a face as possible and pretended to turn away haughtily.

/I don't understand how you like it/ Bakura said loftily as Ryou started laughing at his comical behavior.

"I was raised in England, remember? I had tea daily. Drinking it now is just habit," Ryou replied downing the rest and putting the empty cup on his desk.

/What time is it/

"It's still afternoon. Go find something to do."

/But it's so wet out/ Bakura protested. Ryou thought for a minute and then sat up and pulled a little box towards him.

"Close your eyes," Ryou said picking up Bakura.

/What the hell are you going to do to me/ Bakura demanded suspiciously.

Ryou smiled and held up the box's contents. /There's no way in Ra's name you're making me wear those/ Bakura groaned looking at what Ryou held.

"Please? I found them and I thought you might like to feel a bit more human," Ryou begged, using his innocent looks to get to Bakura.

/As long as I don't look stupid/ Bakura sighed, knowing it would make Ryou happy, and that's all he cared about right then. Ryou put the little garments on Bakura and brought him to the mirror.

Bakura looked and started laughing. /I look so dumb/ he laughed.

"Well, you wore this shirt combo in Battle City, so I don't see why you don't like it," Ryou replied taking the little blue jacket off Bakura and putting a small replica of Bakura's leather trenchcoat on instead. "How's that?" Ryou asked setting Bakura down on the bed again.

/Much better/ he replied with a satisfied smile. Ryou laid next to him and pulled Bakura into a hug. Bakura laid there for a few minutes and then got restless. Taking a quick glance at Ryou, Bakura wormed his way free and snatched the millennium ring from Ryou's neck.

"Bakura! Come back!" Ryou laughed, sitting up and chasing after his yami who ran and then turned tauntingly in the doorway. Ryou lunged and missed. Looking up from the carpet, Ryou spotted Bakura in a crouched position, shaking the millennium ring not a foot from Ryou.

/You know/ Bakura said with the tiniest smirk/You shouldn't throw your whole weight. You'll just miss if whatever you're going for dodges and crash on the floor like you just did, I'd like to add./

Bakura would have teased Ryou some more, but darted off seeing Ryou stagger to his feet and resume chasing. A bit later, Ryou managed to catch Bakura. Holding the cat captive, he took the millennium ring back and returned it to its spot around his neck.

"Well, that was fun while it lasted," Ryou said breathlessly.

/You're telling me. I was running out of hiding spots/ Bakura bluntly pointed out and then yawned.

Ryou smiled softly as Bakura fell asleep on his lap. Carefully taking the shirt and jacket off Bakura, Ryou stood and carried Bakura back to his room.

"I love you," Ryou whispered. Bakura's ear twitched towards the sound of Ryou's voice, but he didn't stir. Ryou smiled and after about an hour, left the room and went to the living room. Looking out of the window, Ryou smiled as he remembered the first time he had met Bakura.

_Flashback_

_Ryou walked up the driveway to his house in England, but paused when he saw a delivery box on his doorstep. Seeing that it was addressed to him from Egypt, Ryou picked up the box excitedly, and carried it into the house. After opening the box, Ryou pulled out a letter from his father explaining what Ryou's gift was._

_"Worn by a priest huh?" Ryou mumbled to himself as he unwrapped the millennium ring, piling the soft cloth on the table, "This is so cool. I wonder if the priest looked like me."_

_Sliding the rope around his neck, Ryou only had time to reflect on how the weight felt strangely comfortable and familiar around his neck, before the ring started glowing unbearably bright._

_Once the light faded, Ryou lowered his arm from his eyes and stared in shock. In front of him floated a spirit, who appeared to be "waking up." The spirit opened his eyes and looked at his body._

_"Hmm, I'll have to fix that," the spirit muttered vaguely to himself before landing gently on the floor. Looking up and spotting Ryou, the spirit raised an eyebrow at the frightened, and trembling boy. "You have a name kid? Or are you going to stand there quaking like an idiot?" the spirit demanded gruffly, folding his arms into the sleeves of his red coat._

_"I-I'm Ryou," Ryou said still slightly fearful. The spirit snorted and replied that his name was Bakura._

_"Is that what you actually looked like?" Ryou asked curiously. Bakura looked surprised at this and nodding slightly, solidified himself._

_Bakura looked at his now solid form, and was about to say something when he started changing. "Damn it!" He cursed as his body transformed itself into an almost mirror image of Ryou…only more evil looking._

_Ryou couldn't help it, and giggled slightly. Bakura was quite annoyed so with a long string of Egyptian curses, he went back into the ring and started experimenting, trying to figure out why in Ra's name his form changed._

_End Flashback_

Ryou couldn't help it, but the memory made him laugh every time he remembered it. The look on Bakura's face had been priceless.

/Hikari, why are you laughing/ Bakura asked coming into the room with a yawn and only paused to stretch before joining Ryou at the window.

"I'm remembering the time I released you from the ring," Ryou replied scooping Bakura into another hug. "That was the first time I ever felt feelings of love for you," Ryou said slightly embarrassed, nuzzling his face into Bakura's fur.

/You love me/ Bakura asked unbelievably pulling away slightly.

Ryou looked confused. "Of course I do. Well, when you're human, you're beautiful, strong, dark, quick minded, brave, and you aren't afraid to stand up for what you believe in and won't back off for anything," Ryou replied and then sadly smiled. "Things I'll never be or have," he finished.

Bakura was shocked. He had thought that his hikari was taking care of him because he was either obligated to, or he was still afraid of Bakura. /I…need to be alone/ he muttered jumping out of Ryou's arms and walked away. Slipping outside, Bakura headed to a place where he knew he could get some answers… the game shop.

Ria: sighs in boredom I'm tired and I don't know what to write anymore. I need suggestions, so if anyone wants to help me on this, I'll get the next chappie done much quicker. Read and review please!


	5. the dangerous dance with time

Ria: I love having a dedicated reader. Sami, Bakura didn't leave for good, the poor kitty was merely confused and wanted things cleared up. That's why he went to the game shop. After all, who better to ask than Yami and Yugi? As for Ryou not being British, I know that, and don't care. I think he's even more gorgeous and sexy being British than being Japanese…it suits him better.

Bakura: smirk except when he's running from that balloon boulder in the Japanese version

Ria: yeah, that's the only time I'll accept his Japanese voice because it's so damn hilarious.

Ryou: you seem down Ria

Ria: YSF got rid of all my sugar. I apologize to you guys now if the chapter is sucky. I need sweet substance!

/Blah/ Bakura to Maria or Ryou

Blah Ryou to Bakura

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Bakura was shocked. He had thought that his hikari was taking care of him because he was either obligated to, or he was still afraid of Bakura. /I…need to be alone/ he muttered jumping out of Ryou's arms and walked away. Slipping outside, Bakura headed to a place where he knew he could get some answers… the game shop.

Bakura ran as fast as he could go. Going to the park, Bakura scaled a wall and sat, looking out over the huge pond. 'How could I have not noticed that before?' he wondered. Continuing on, Bakura reached the Game shop and climbed the tree outside of Yami's window. Sitting on the branch level with Yami's window, he smirked, seeing the former pharaoh dozing on his bed and used his new found knowledge of communicating with other spirits.

/Pharaoh/ Bakura yelled as loud as he could in his mind and directed it at Yami. Yami jolted, startled into consciousness and fell off his bed. Rubbing his back, Yami glared at the cat outside his window, whose eyes were dancing with laughter.

"What are you doing here Bakura?" he asked as he let the feline in.

/I need help/ Bakura replied hesitantly, sitting on the desk.

"With what?" Yami asked suspiciously.

/Well, ever since I've been nicer to Ryou, I've been getting weird feelings every time I'm around him./ Bakura explained.

"How could you not know what you're feeling?" Yami questioned with a hint of amusement.

/Well, I've never felt them before. Every time Ryou's near me, I get a tight feeling in my chest, and I get nervous./

"You love him, that's why," Yami said with a laugh.

/WHAT/

"Ow, don't be so loud," Yami complained rubbing his temples, "When I first fell in love with Yugi, I felt the same things because I was afraid of telling him what I felt in case he didn't feel the same way."

/The great pharaoh, afraid/ Bakura said unbelievingly and then started laughing.

"It wasn't the first time," Yami said in defense and then smiled, "I remember when I was a prince and I had a crush on that one princess, I went to my best friend for a pep talk, because I was too afraid to come right out and tell her. Bakura, that person was you."

/We were best friends/ Bakura asked incredulously.

"Who would have thought, huh?" Yami said with another smile. The two spirits were silent, until Yami stood up suddenly.

/What's your problem, Pharaoh/ Bakura asked from where he had moved to the bed and was stretched out.

Yami looked smug. "I just figured out what you have to do to get out of your body," he replied.

/Tell me/ Bakura demanded, getting to his feet.

"And why should I?" Yami countered crossing his arms, "You've done nothing but cause me grief lately."

Bakura gave a sigh and tried to look down sadly. /No one will tell me. The only clue I got was that my heart will tell me. I don't want to remain like this forever/ he said with a hidden smirk.

Yami let down his guard and went towards Bakura. Bad mistake. Bakura, sensing this, leaped, and the force of his jump knocked Yami over. "All right!" Yami laughed, "I'll tell you."

Bakura got off of him and sat on his haunches as Yami sat up. "The way that you can change back," Yami stated, "is by realizing just what Ryou means to you."

/You know/ Bakura said as the information sank in/I think I know now what Maria, the apparition who turned me into a cat, was talking about when she said my heart will tell me how to change back./

"Well, what does Ryou mean to you?" Yami asked.

/I-I don't know/ Bakura admitted/so many things are going through my head at the same time, I have no clue what to think./

Yami frowned and looked disheartened. "Well," he said heavily, "If you need to talk ever, you know where to find me. Just don't wake me up as rudely as you did for this particular visit."

/I was wondering why you weren't with Yugi-tachi. I can hear them still downstairs minus Malik and Marik/ Bakura said as Yami slipped on a jacket and picking Bakura up, slipped out the window and started climbing down the tree.

"Tea was starting to annoy me with her flirting and friendship speeches. She obviously doesn't accept that I'm gay and with Yugi," Yami replied, making a face as he started to walk, still holding Bakura.

/Hey Yami/

"What?" Yami asked, suspicious at Bakura's tone.

Bakura looked up at the pharaoh and smirked. /If I ever turn back, would you and Yugi like to have a foursome with me and Ryou/ he asked slyly.

Yami sweatdropped. "No," he replied dropping Bakura into a puddle and walking off.

/Great/ Bakura thought to himself before trudging himself back to Ryou.

"Bakura! What happened?" Ryou asked when Bakura entered minutes later, still dripping wet.

/The almighty pharaoh dropped me purposely into a puddle/ Bakura replied sourly, but purred when Ryou wrapped him up in a fluffy towel.

"Why does everything always happen to you?" Ryou asked, burying his face into Bakura's hair.

/Do you forget who I am/

"Good point."

Over the next week, Bakura didn't do much but think on what Ryou meant to him, but kept drawing a blank. Yami, Malik, and Marik noticed this and tried to help by talking to Bakura and trying to get him to draw conclusions. If anything, it just made poor Bakura even more confused.

"Why is this so hard for you Bakura?" Yami demanded one afternoon, Malik and Marik next to him, solemn and not blinking as they gazed at Bakura.

/What do you mean hard for me/ Bakura replied.

"What he means, is that you only have half of a week left to realize what Ryou means to you, or else you'll spend the rest of your life eating mice," Malik said, "We don't want to see you remain a cat, so please, figure it out."

Bakura huffed and walked away. On the night of Bakura's final chance, he was visited again, but this time by Maria.

_'Bakura, you need to figure it out quickly. You have fifteen minutes before you remain a cat until the body dies,'_ Maria said as Bakura sat in the middle of the living room, one ear swiveled listening to Ryou sleep restlessly uupstairs.

/Maria, I don't know if I can do this/ Bakura admitted/I don't want to make the wrong realization./

_'Would you prefer to hurt Ryou one last time by not making any decision at all?'_ Maria demanded. Bakura looked at the floor for a while. Hearing the clock strike midnight, Bakura suddenly knew his answer.

Looking straight into Maria's frightened and tearing eyes, Bakura stood and said/I love Ryou with all my heart and what soul I have left from being evil/ just as the clock finished chiming. That being said, Bakura slid his eyes closed and waited…ready for whatever his fate held in store.

Ria: did he make it? I don't know. Maybe he did, maybe he didn't. I purposely left it there to 1) make you sweat, and 2) have you decide, though I know what you'll probably want. Review and give me your thoughts.


	6. One way to annoy the Pharaoh

Ria: I love making people sweat sometimes. I think everyone will love this chapter. Bakura acts quite dumb, but in an adorable way.

Bakura: Ria, don't you have that multi-genre paper to write?

Ria: twitches yeah, but does it look like I care? Want to be my spokesman for it since my main genre is horror?

Bakura: …why?

Ria: before running because you fit right in with the freaky horror monsters?

Bakura: gives chase

/Blah/ Bakura to Maria or Ryou

\Blah\ Ryou to Bakura

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Looking straight into Maria's frightened and tearing eyes, Bakura stood and said/I love Ryou with all my heart and what soul I have left from being evil/ just as the clock finished chiming. That being said, Bakura slid his eyes closed and waited…ready for whatever his fate held in store.

Bakura felt a tingling all throughout his body and felt his hair brushing against his neck. Opening his eyes slowly, Bakura looked at Maria and saw that she had a stunned expression on her face.

_'Well, that's never happened before,'_ Maria said suddenly laughing.

"I'm not a cat am I?" Bakura asked, surprised to hear his voice, as raspy as it was from not being used, escape from his mouth and not through his mind. Maria only pointed to a mirror, still laughing, but Bakura got the hint.

Turning, Bakura looked into the mirror and blinked a few times. "Am I…"

_'Human? Yes, but something happened that I didn't expect would happen to your body,' _Maria said with another laugh.

Bakura crawled over to a lamp and turned it on. Turning back to the mirror, Bakura looked at his black and purple form. "This is the body I had when you transformed me to save Ryou," he murmured fingering the mirror.

_'Yes. This is your actual body, but since it was held in the Shadow Realm for so long, I blended it with the colors of the realm to keep it from being taken over by another shadow, but it won't come off. You have to de-spell the shadows yourself somehow.'_

Bakura stood up and toppled over almost immediately. Struggling to a sitting position, he glared at Maria, who was trying to hold back a fresh wave of laughter.

"Shut up," he mumbled in an annoyed voice and got to his feet. Immediately, he started to sway, but he grabbed onto the couch for support.

_'Here,'_ Maria said taking his arm, _'lean on me and start taking small steps until you get used to two legs again.'_

Bakura nodded and started taking steps. After about five minutes of walking around the house, Bakura could balance and walk on his own two feet by himself. Turning his head slightly to Maria, he was about to say something, until he ran into the couch and tumbled over onto the cushions and then to the floor with a loud thump.

Maria smiled at Bakura's sheer denseness, when her sharpened ears picked up a soft sound. _'Bakura,'_ she whispered, _'you woke Ryou up and he's coming to investigate the sound. Better do something other than sit dazed in a pile of cushions. Either way, he'll be happy with your new look.'_

As the thief nodded, his ears picking up Ryou's footsteps, Maria disappeared after turning off the light.

"Is anyone there?" came Ryou's voice as he peered into the darkness. Bakura smirked and tapped into the mind link.

/Don't worry little hikari, it was only me. I bumped into something, that's all./ Bakura replied, easily seeing Ryou relax at his "voice."

Ryou smiled softly and turned to go back to bed, when something clicked and he looked at the digital clock on the wall. "Wait," he said quietly, "it's 12:10. If you're using the mind link, then…" Ryou's eyes widened and he fumbled for the light switch. Bakura smirked and moved behind him just a second before the light flicked on.

Looking around the room, Ryou frowned, his mind racing. If Bakura wasn't in the room, then where was he?

"Looking for someone?" came a raspy voice behind him. Whirling around, Ryou only saw shadows. As he was about to look away, a shadow moved away from the other shadows and into the light.

"B-B-Bakura?" Ryou stuttered as the 'shadow' opened his brown eyes and looked at Ryou.

"R-R-Ryou?" Bakura replied in a teasing tone, his teeth glimmering white in the black and purple of his skin as he smiled. He let out a hoarse laugh at Ryou's dumbfounded face and suddenly felt a body rush into his arms.

"You did make it," Ryou cried, "I was so worried." Overcome by tears, he buried his face in Bakura's shirt and sobbed. Bakura hesitantly stroked Ryou's hair and then gently pried Ryou away from him.

"Ryou," he said getting down on one knee and looking into his sweet hikari's eyes, "I-I want to apologize for being such an ass all these years. The truth is, I've loved you for so long, but I was afraid of what you would say, so I had shoved those feelings into the back of my mind. Please forgive me."

Ryou blinked down at Bakura and then dropped to his knees in front of him. When Bakura looked at him questionably, Ryou smiled. "Your voice is incredibly raspy," he smiled and kissed the dumbfounded yami on the lips. Bakura was surprised and then relaxed and let his body react the way it wanted to, which kissed back. Both albinos were so caught up in the kiss, neither noticed Bakura's body turn pitch black and then fade to the correct colors of white hair, pale skin, striped shirt, and black pants and trenchcoat.

Finally breaking the kiss for air, Ryou looked into Bakura's eyes and giggled. "You're colorful," he giggled again.

Bakura grinned and scooping up Ryou, he headed into the kitchen. "Now let's find something to help my voice," he said.

"Tea always works," Ryou suggested cuddling to his dark's warmth.

"I hate tea."

"You never tried it. What if I put something good in it?" Ryou asked.

Bakura stood Ryou on the floor and buried his face into the soft hair. "I don't feel like letting you go though," he murmured. Ryou giggled at the tickling feeling of Bakura's breath on his neck.

"Give me five minutes," Ryou promised and Bakura reluctantly pulled away and sat at the table as Ryou made the tea. Returning exactly five minutes later, Ryou put a mug in front of Bakura and sat next to him with a mug of his own.

Bakura picked up his mug and hesitantly took a sip. The temperature was perfect and it tasted like lemons, his favorite fruit. "This is good!" he exclaimed drinking it down, feeling his throat loosen up.

"And your voice sounds tons better," Ryou replied with a smile as he finished his own tea. As soon as he put both mugs in the sink to wash in the morning, Bakura picked him up and kissed him again. "I take it that a relationship has officially started?" Ryou asked once they broke apart again.

Bakura rested his forehead against Ryou's. "If you want. I honestly can't think of a reason why not to," he answered, "Now let's go to bed."

The next morning, Ryou rolled over and tried to cuddle closer to Bakura… if he was there. Opening his eyes, Ryou blinked sleepily wondering if he dreamed the whole thing. Shrugging and changing into jeans and a T-shirt, he headed down to the kitchen and stopped dead in his tracks. There, in front of the stove, stood Bakura in his favorite pajama pants and also shirtless, making breakfast. (Ria: drool Sami, drool giggle)

"You can cook?" Bakura turned at Ryou's question and smiled. "Of course," he replied, "how else could I have survived in Egypt if I did not know how to cook?"

Ryou smiled and helped finish making breakfast. "When I woke up and you weren't there," Ryou said between mouthfuls some minutes later, "I thought that last night was all just a dream."

Bakura paused eating and stroked Ryou's cheek. "Of course not koi, if it was a dream and I slept through the night accidentally, I think I would have killed myself to dodge the effects of the curse.

"Would you have come back to me?" Ryou asked a few minutes later, clearing the dishes, seeing Bakura was also done.

Bakura stood and wrapped his arms around Ryou. "Nope," he replied with a smirk, "I would have gone and taken the pharaoh." Laughing, Bakura had only time to register that Ryou didn't respond before a soapy sponge smacked him in the face.

"You better be joking," Ryou said with a slight hiss. Bakura smirked evilly in reply.

"Am I?" he asked in a dangerous tone. Ryou gulped and suddenly found himself pinned to the floor, Bakura sitting on his stomach. "What are you going to do now?" Bakura asked with another smirk.

"Tell you that you're heavy… and this," Ryou responded, pushing against Bakura, making his lithe frame slide out from under the startled tomb robber.

"What day is it today?" Bakura asked once he got over his shock.

"Umm," Ryou replied glancing at the calendar and then crawling into Bakura's lap and faced him, "Saturday, why?"

"How about we go find the pharaoh and see what he's up to today," Bakura suggested.

"Sounds good, but first you have to get dressed," Ryou said getting up after kissing Bakura on the nose.

About an hour later, Yami stood at the stove, finishing up making a surprise breakfast for Yugi. Humming contentedly to himself, Yami set the plate down and called Yugi.

"Yami, you didn't try experimenting again, did you?" Yugi asked as he entered but stopped when he saw breakfast waiting for him.

Yami grinned sheepishly when Yugi looked questioningly at him. "I made breakfast for you," he explained, "Ryou taught me how to cook."

Yugi laughed and kissed his Yami on the cheek. "You're the best," he murmured as the ex-pharaoh returned the kiss and then picked Yugi up and set him down in the chair.

Yugi was just finishing breakfast when the doorbell connected to the side door rang. Yami, seeing Yugi look at him questionably, shrugged in reply and left to answer the door. Opening the door, Yami froze when he saw who was at the door. Letting both albinos in, Yami suddenly punched Bakura across the jaw as soon as the door closed, causing a surprised tomb robber to fall to the floor unceremoniously.

"What the hell was that for Pharaoh?" Bakura growled while rubbing his cheek, gaining Yugi's attention.

"What's going on?" Yugi asked but stopped when he saw Ryou helping up a human Bakura whose cheek was starting to turn red.

"That's what I'd like to know," Ryou agreed watching the two yamis stare at each other.

Yami broke the ice by smiling slightly. "You idiot," he said to Bakura before the two embraced into a brotherly hug, "making me worry till the last day."

"You know that has always been my style," Bakura replied with a smirk.

Yami was about to reply, but was cut off by Ryou waving a hand in front of his face. "What did me and Yugi miss?" he asked curiously.

"Me and the pharaoh were the best of friends while we were squirts before the Kuru Eruna incident, and even then our friendship was still there, but very strained. If you want to hear something farfetched, Yami was actually the lunatic then, and I was the voice of reason," Bakura explained with a friendly, uncharacteristic smile.

"I find that hard to believe," Yugi replied dryly.

"Actually Yugi, he's telling the truth," Yami said, "I may not remember much about my past, but I do remember those days."

"That's really odd," Ryou remarked drawing closer to Bakura.

"So how did you change back?" Yugi asked Bakura once they were all sitting in the living room a minute later.

Bakura smirked. "I had to admit my feelings," he replied with a sideways glance at Ryou.

Yami just nodded in understanding, but Yugi still looked confused so Bakura decided to demonstrate. Giving a little tug on Ryou's arm, the ex-thief caught the innocent albino's lips in a firm, yet gentle kiss as Ryou turned to see what Bakura wanted.

Yami just smiled when he saw the display of affection as Ryou kissed back. Yugi got over his shock and daze and cuddled up to Yami, happy for Ryou.

Ryou allowed Bakura to kiss him for a few minutes before he pulled away, a blush gracing his features. "Aw Ryou, I think you two are a perfect match," Yugi piped up.

"Well there does have to be a light for every dark, and vice versa," Yami said with a shrug.

"For once Pharaoh, I agree with you" Bakura stated with a smirk before giving Ryou another kiss.

"Keep it PG!" Yugi squealed, chucking a pillow at them. Ryou just chuckled and caught the pillow.

"Do you two want to do anything today?" Bakura asked.

Yami looked thoughtful and then frowned. "Sorry guys," he said, "Yugi's grandpa is taking the two of us to a card convention."

"Yeah, I agreed to let Yami participate in the tournament that they're going to have," Yugi added.

"I see, well have fun both of you. Me and Bakura will find something to do," Ryou answered standing up, Bakura close behind him.

…

A bit later, Bakura lay on his bed in the basement meditating and focusing his shadow powers since he wanted to stay out of Ryou's way while he cleaned. Frowning, he sensed something different about his powers and sat up. It felt like he had acquired a new ability.

Summoning this feeling, Bakura looked at his hands and saw the skin at his fingertips turn black, then gray and spread down his hands, up his arms, and over his body.

"This could come in handy," he muttered, closing his eyes and waiting for the swirling sensation to subside.

Ria: Can anyone guess what this new ability is? I'll have your choice of Yugi, Yami, Bakura, Ryou, Malik, or Marik go on a date with you should you get this right… and only one of the above bishies please. Read and Review!


	7. something is terribly amiss here

Ria: hmm, so far only a few people have guessed. It's wasn't what I was originally looking for, but yous convinced me. I was originally going to give Bakura the ability to transform into kitty cat mode at will… However, giving Bakura the ability to turn into a shadow is a better idea, so I'm using that also. (sets up for an interesting twist later on in this chapter)

Bakura: Ria, what are you doing to me this time?

Ria: jumps how'd you find me?

Bakura: Easy, I just followed the sound of furious typing.

Ria: So… you're not mad at me for calling you freaky?

Bakura: I never said that

Ria: sweatdrop on with the fic!

_'blah' _ Maria shadow form

"Blah" normal dialouge/ Maria's human form

… time/scene skip

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"This could come in handy," he muttered, closing his eyes and waiting for the swirling sensation to subside. Opening his eyes once the world stopped spinning, Bakura looked down at himself and grimaced.

"I thought it would be something different," he groaned, "First I'm a cat, then I'm black and purple, and now I'm a single fucking color!"

_'What are you ranting about now?' _Maria asked as she appeared floating in midair.

"Look at me, I'm gray!"

_'You're not trying hard enough. Focus on your new power harder and you'll understand why you're monochromatic.'_

Bakura growled low in his throat but obeyed. "I really hate shadows. Especially white ones," he muttered before concentrating once more.

_'…Especially white ones… HEY!' _Maria exclaimed, _'That wasn't nice. I should transform you into a bug and squash you for that.'_

Bakura ignored her and looked at his completed form in his mirror and felt a rush of an emotion that was very unfamiliar. Maybe for the first time in 5000 years he was feeling fear again? "What am I?" he murmured.

_'Well, you're a shadow, but this time you can change out of that form when you like,' _the white shadow explained while sinking down to a sitting position on the bed. _'Look around and tell me what you see.'_

Bakura looked around and discovered that he could see literally through this realm and into the Shadow Realm, where he could see different ghostly shapes in different shades of gray.

"Are those…"

_'Shadows? Yes they are,'_ Maria said standing next to Bakura.

When Bakura looked over, he was shocked to see that Maria no longer looked like a bright, barely distinguishable figure. Instead, she was glowing with swirls of soft light that flitted over her form from the three stars on her head. Her hair and eyes were shining with an impervious glow that made her clearly visible colors stand out in a very peaceful and beautiful way. Maria looked concerned, so Bakura looked to see why.

He saw it almost immediately. Some of the shadows were drawing closer, looks of fury on their muddled faces.

_'Bakura take my hand and transform back, these shadows are mad that I brought you here while you're like this,'_ Maria whispered.

Bakura nodded and taking her hand, transformed out. "I was wondering something about you. Can mortals see you?" he asked once he was unable to see the Shadow Realm anymore.

_'Only if I want them to.'_ Maria replied with a shrug, once again bright, _'For instance, I let Ryou see me.'_

"WHAT?"

_'Calm down, I needed Ryou to help you on your way to a decision. Why do you think that one day he cuddled you to virtually no end?'_

Bakura made a face. "As much as I love him, I didn't enjoy that all that much right then."

Maria just rolled her eyes and started to fade. '_I better go. I think I have quite a bit of explaining to do,'_ she said before disappearing. Bakura headed upstairs to see if Ryou was done yet. Lurking in the shadows, Bakura waited till Ryou turned to face his general direction and launched himself at the slender boy, causing both to topple over, Bakura landing on top of Ryou.

"Hello Kura," Ryou said wrapping his arms around the tomb robber's neck and giving him a kiss.

"Are you done yet?" Bakura asked in a slight whine after he returned the kiss. Ryou nodded and sighed.

"I would have been done sooner should you have helped me," Ryou replied sarcastically.

"Since when have you known me to be a neat freak like you?" Bakura asked raising an eyebrow, causing Ryou to giggle helplessly.

…

After a few weeks, life seemed to return to the way it was before the whole cat incident with three exceptions. The first was that even though Bakura became very moody and irritable at times, he didn't harm Ryou in any way, shape, or form and instead taught himself how to whittle as a way to release his anger. The second exception was that the albinos' relationship flourished beyond what anyone might have expected when one looked at their different backgrounds. The third and final exception was that Bakura and Yami were once again best of friends.

One day, Bakura and Ryou were walking from downtown, Ryou laughing and Bakura looking irritated. "Come on Kura, you have to admit it was slightly funny," Ryou giggled.

"No it wasn't! That's why I hate long hair. On you, it makes you look angelic, but on me, it just makes me look like a pansy!" Bakura growled, shoving his hands moodily into the pocket of his trenchcoat.

Ryou stopped laughing at his love and just shook his head as he guided Bakura around the corner, knowing that when Bakura was in one of his moods, he was prone to running into things since he didn't watch where he was walking. "If it bothers you that much," Ryou finally said as they strolled past the game shop, "I'll make you an appointment with a hair place."

That snapped Bakura out of his brooding. "You mean the place where they cut your hair for a price?" he asked. Seeing Ryou nod, Bakura suddenly snorted. "Why pay when one can do it for free?" he asked as he whipped out his knife.

Ryou could only watch in horror as Bakura grabbed a handful of hair and slice through it with the knife.

"Bakura!" Ryou groaned, grabbing the wrist whose hand held the knife as it sliced through another portion of hair unevenly.

Seeing that they weren't far from the game shop, Ryou dragged Bakura there and entered the shop, not letting go of Bakura's wrist. Yami, hearing the bell above the door jingle, looked up from where he was perched on the stool behind the counter, boredly reading a manga.

"Hello Ryou, Bakura. What can I help you with?" Yami asked.

Ryou dragged Bakura in front of him, and Yami was forced to stifle a laugh. "I see. Bakura, what look were you going for?" Yami asked with a chuckle.

"I was trying to cut my hair to resemble Tozokuou," Bakura muttered, which caused Yami to let loose a rich and deep laugh.

"Well it's still a little long where you did cut it, so if you'll wait a moment, I'll help you," Yami said calming down as Yugi entered to change shifts with Yami. The ex-pharaoh led Bakura and Ryou into the living room and grabbing a chair from the kitchen, sat Bakura down in it. Leaving the room for a minute, Yami came back with a towel, which he spread over Bakura's shoulders.

Bakura handed Yami the knife, and closed his eyes as Yami set to work. Once it was done, Yami guided Bakura with his eyes still closed to the hall mirror. "Okay Tozokuou, open your eyes," Yami chuckled.

Bakura opened his eyes and grinned when he saw his reflection. "Not bad," he commented, running his hand through his hair, "I still don't understand how you got my spikes to lie flatter."

"Back up a minute," Ryou interrupted as Yami was about to respond, "First of all, who's this Tozokuou, and secondly, why didn't you just use scissors?"

Bakura and Yami looked at each other and both burst out laughing. "I'm sorry Ryou," Bakura laughed trying to calm down, seeing Ryou's miffed expression, "Tozokuou was the name I was called in Egypt. It literally translates to 'Thief King' because only Yami knew that my name was actually Bakura."

Yami also got his laughing under control. "And as for the knife, I wouldn't have been to cut Bakura's layers with scissors, nor cut the hair just right to make the spikes on the top of his head lie flat," he explained with a shrug.

Ryou nodded in understanding. "That makes sense," he said slowly and then ran his fingers through Bakura's hair. "I like it!" he said brightly, "It suits you."

After stopping to talk to Yugi for a minute since the shop was empty, both headed home. Ryou turned to Bakura once they were in the house. "You know," he said, "you had that haircut when I first released you before you became solid for the first time, didn't you?"

Bakura thought and then smirked. "Do you mean that I looked like this?" he asked, his form flickering to the thief king appearance of tan, chisled, muscular body, red coat over an off white outfit, and scar that went from above his eyebrow to level with his mouth, intersected by two other smaller scars.

Ryou clapped his hands. "Yes exactly!" he laughed as Bakura wrapped an arm around his waist and drew him into a gentle kiss.

Pulling away, Ryou saw the strain in Bakura's eyes as he tried to keep the form from fading on him. "Let it go, we'll find a way to transform you to that body permanently someday," Ryou murmured while tracing the scars and then laying his head on Bakura's shoulder.

Feeling the linen coat turn to Bakura's leather trenchcoat, Ryou sighed, knowing Bakura wanted his old body back. "Oh Ryou," Bakura murmured, burying his face into the slightly smaller boy's hair, "I'm being selfish, forgive me."

"You never asked to look almost exactly like me. It was just a curse that the Ring put on you. Don't blame yourself," Ryou soothed as he felt Bakura nuzzle his neck in a guilty way.

Bakura looked at him and offered a weak smile. "Come on. I'll make you tea to cheer you up," Ryou offered.

"I hate tea."

"Except for the lemon one."

"Damn you Ryou, you know me too well," Bakura sulked, causing Ryou laugh as he entered the kitchen.

…

That week was the last week of school for Ryou and the rest of the gang. "Are you sure you're going to be all right on your own?" Ryou asked Bakura as they walked to school.

"I've done it before, why are you worrying now?" Bakura asked.

Ryou smiled sheepishly. "Because you get bored and you end up terrorizing people when you get bored."

"I'll find something productive to do, don't you worry," Bakura said as they approached the school gate.

Ryou paused before entering and shyly gave Bakura a chaste kiss before dashing into the schoolyard.

Bakura blinked and then just grinned in amusement. "My little Hikari is getting bolder. Normally he wouldn't do that in front of his peers except for Yugi, Yami, and the tomb keepers," Bakura muttered to himself before walking off to the park to his favorite spot.

Sitting on a bench that overlooked the big pond, and in his opinion, small lake, Bakura couldn't help but wonder why Maria hadn't visited in a long while. Once or twice, Bakura turned into a shadow and sought her out, but didn't stay long, for the shadows grew angry quickly.

Skipping a stone on the water, Bakura gazed across the lake and started when he spotted a bright white flash. Immediately following the flash, the Millennium Ring's five points lit up and pointed towards where the flash had originated.

Breaking into a run, Bakura followed the edge of the lake, keeping his eye on the pointers. Reaching the other side, Bakura looked around but couldn't see what caused the flash, even though he had a bad feeling in his gut as to what, or more appropriately, who caused the flash. Ring glowing, Bakura used the second of his new abilities that Maria had given him. A second later, a gray cat with a notched ear streaked off into the woods, clutching the Millennium Ring in its mouth.

Following the center point that was now faintly glowing and pointing straight ahead, Bakura soon found himself in a clearing. Transforming out, Bakura gasped when he saw who was unconscious in the middle of the clearing.

Going over to the prone figure, Bakura rolled Maria over and brushed her hair off of her forehead. Picking her up, Bakura took no notice of the torn dress and matching cuts and gashes, and just concentrated on getting out of these Ra confounded woods. Once he got out, he heard Ryou's voice calling through the mind link.

'Bakura, where'd you run off to? You're usually home before me,' came Ryou's voice.

'Is it that late?' Bakura mused. Hearing Ryou's exasperated sigh, Bakura decided to elaborate. 'I was at the park and saw a flash on the other side of the lake. I followed it into the woods and found Maria in a clearing, injured and unconscious. It took me a while to find the way out.'

'Maria's hurt? What's powerful enough to hurt a shadow?' Ryou asked.

Bakura mentally shrugged and reassuring Ryou that he'd be back in a matter of moments, Bakura took a risk and teleported Maria and himself into the Ring and back out next to Ryou.

"Is she hurt bad?" Bakura asked as Ryou bent over her and started examining her.

"Well, she's certainly not all right," Ryou replied, "Go get bandages and ointment, and we'll patch her up. Then we wait."

Bakura hurried to obey and together, the two lovers patched the white shadow up and then covered her with a blanket and left her alone to sleep.

Around evening, Bakura was sitting in the living room watching Maria, when he noticed her eyelids start to flutter. "Ryou! She's waking up!" he softly called going to Maria and kneeling next to her. After a minute, Maria's eyes cracked open and looked up at the two.

"R-Ryou? Who is that with you?" she asked not able to really recognize anything except for Ryou's eyes.

"Don't you remember Bakura?" Ryou replied.

"Bakura?" Maria asked and then focused her still blurry vision on the figure next to Ryou, "Oh my, it is Bakura. I didn't recognize you with your new haircut."

"How are you feeling?" Bakura questioned.

Maria rubbed her eyes to clear her vision. "Like hell. How did I get here?"

"I found you in the woods…" Bakura started.

"How did I get in the woods?" Maria interrupted trying to sit up, but sinking back down, clutching her head with a moan.

"Don't you know?" Ryou asked startled.

Maria didn't answer, but then felt her forehead and buried her face in her hands, crying.

Bakura and Ryou exchanged looks and pried Maria's hands away from her face. Ryou let out a gasp. Where her stars should have been, there were slightly bloody gashes.

"Maria!" Bakura pressed, putting his hands on her shoulders, "You need to tell us what happened!"

Maria looked at him with tears running from her eyes, which Bakura brushed away. "Well," she said, "I was going to visit you, when a lot of shadows blocked my way. Apparently, they didn't want me meddling with those not in the Shadow Realm anymore. When I tried to brush by them, they attacked me from all directions," Here Maria paused and took a ragged breath.

"Take your time," Ryou urged.

"There were too many for my powers to fend off. I knew my only chance would be to escape to this realm, but as I was in the portal, the most powerful shadows ripped the stars off my head, causing me to crash out of the portal and into this realm somewhere, and as you said, in the woods. That's all I remember, besides the shadows continuing to attack me as I was blacking out. I think you scared them off," Maria finished looking at Bakura.

Bakura frowned. "I'll help you get your power back," he said as Ryou nodded in agreement, "And after that, their asses are going to get seriously kicked!"

Ria: ooh, vengeful Kura! Read and Review to see what happens!


	8. first day as a mortal

Ria: shrinks away a bit wearing an army helmet and camouflage face paint hehe, hi? I'm sorry i didn't update for almost a year...I forgot! runs and hides in some bushes, blending in due to the army stuff

Bakura: sighs and uses a flamethrower to burn the bushes get writing

_'blah' _Maria shadow form

"Blah" normal dialogue/ Maria's human form

… time/scene skip

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"There were too many for my powers to fend off. I knew my only chance would be to escape to this realm, but as I was in the portal, the most powerful shadows ripped the stars off my head, causing me to crash out of the portal and into this realm somewhere, as you said, in the woods. That's all I remember, besides the shadows continuing to attack me as I was blacking out. I think you scared them off," Maria finished looking at Bakura.

Bakura frowned. "I'll help you get your power back," he said as Ryou nodded in agreement, "And after that, their asses are going to get seriously kicked!"

"But first, Maria needs to recover. Would you like anything?" Ryou asked turning to Maria.

Maria opened her mouth to reply and then shut it looking sheepish. "Since I wasn't really alive as a shadow, I didn't need to eat or drink. Now that all my powers are gone, I'm assuming that I'm mortal, so I guess I will need something to eat and drink," she explained.

"I sense a 'but' coming on," Bakura said sarcastically.

"…_But_ I have no idea which food and drink is which except for water," Maria finished.

Ryou was silent for a minute. "Bakura," he said, "I guess we could make dinner now, what do you think?"

Bakura nodded and scooping Maria up, headed into the kitchen. As the two lovers cooked, they brought Maria little bites of food to try to see if she liked it. Of course, they had to teach her how to chew and swallow first…

Maria, trying her a piece of food that was brought to her, popped it in her mouth and swallowed it, not thinking that it'd get stuck in her throat. As she coughed to get it up, Ryou looked at her funny and then realized what was going on. "Bakura! She's choking!" he cried. Bakura turned and going behind Maria, clasped his hands under her diaphragm and pushed up and towards his chest area.

After a few thrusts, the food became dislodged and Maria, spitting it out, collapsed weakly into Bakura's arms. "Are you okay?" he asked.

Maria took a ragged breath and turned her head so she could glare at Bakura. "I do have bruised and broken ribs you know," she growled.

Ryou chuckled at Bakura's shocked look at the lack of gratitude. "Maria, that's the usual way to get food out of one's throat," he explained.

Maria blinked and looked embarrassed suddenly. "Sorry Bakura," she said, "I didn't know."

"I'll take that as a thank you," he replied with a small smile, sitting Maria down and sitting in the chair across from her. "But first, we need to teach you the concept of chewing," he said with a smile.

After a few minutes, Maria could chew food. It was awkward, but at least she didn't choke. "I don't know how you mortals can stand this," she groaned after she almost choked a second time, but managed to catch herself, "It's so much easier being a shadow."

"At least you're learning new things," Ryou reasoned.

"It's so awkward though!"

Bakura laughed at this. Setting the now finished meal on the table, he and Ryou sat down and started serving the food. "You know," Bakura said after a few minutes, "If we are going to keep Maria here for now, you should at least take her to school so she can meet everyone else, Ryou."

"School? I don't want to go there!" Maria protested.

"Well you won't be going now, but when you're better, you're coming with me," Ryou agreed. Maria grumbled and returned to her meal.

Maria mulled over the thought of school before she realized an important factor. "Aren't you on vacation soon?" she asked.

Ryou grinned impishly. "Only for a week or two. Fall recess," he replied, laughing at Maria's defeated expression.

Maria let out a little whimper but didn't press the subject. After a few minutes, Maria looked up again. "As much as I like my dress, I don't think I could wear it everyday, let alone while it's ripped," she stated.

"I could get Mai or one of the girls to take you shopping tomorrow," Ryou said thoughtfully.

"Why don't you take her hikari?" Bakura asked, running a hand through his spikes.

"Do you want to walk around the women's underwear section not knowing anything about it?" Ryou shot back. Bakura paled at that thought, causing Maria to giggle.

"Mai it is," Bakura agreed.

A few hours later, Maria was curled up on the couch in a pair of Ryou's pajamas feeling miserable. Her head had started throbbing, which made her miss her stars even more. She still couldn't believe that those shadows had the strength to rip them out of her forehead.

"What's wrong?" Bakura asked, joining Maria on the couch.

"Nothing's wrong, why would there be anything wrong?" Maria asked innocently.

"You're crying."

"Oh," Maria said and wiped her eyes with the back of her hand. "I just miss my stars and my head feels akin to splitting down the middle."

Bakura gently put a hand to her forehead and frowned slightly. "Well, you're kind of warm. I'll go ask Ryou," he said before jogging up the stairs to Ryou's room. Returning a minute or so later, Bakura handed Maria two pills with water.

"Here," he said, handing Maria the pills and water, "put the pills in your mouth and then some water and swallow all of it at the same time. You won't choke, I promise."

Maria looked suspicious, but then complied, smiling when she didn't choke. "It was kind of bitter. What was it?" she asked, putting the glass down and then laying her head in Bakura's lap.

Bakura smiled. "It's called Tylenol. It's a medication that'll temporarily get rid of your headache and your small fever," he explained.

Maria nodded and closed her eyes. Within minutes, she was asleep. Bakura sighed and ran his fingers through her hair as Ryou came down.

"I take it you're staying here tonight?" Ryou asked.

Bakura looked at Ryou and nodded. "I don't have the heart to move her, lest she wakes up" Bakura replied. Ryou nodded and going to the hall closet, pulled out a few blankets and a pillow.

Putting the pillow behind Bakura's head, Ryou covered Maria with a blanket and then with Bakura lifting Maria's head slightly, the shadow protesting but then settling down, Ryou pulled a blanket over his lover. "You look comfy," Ryou said with a quiet laugh, "But something's missing."

Bakura didn't have time to ask what Ryou meant before he felt Ryou plop onto the couch and cuddle up to his other side. "Much better!" Ryou chirped but then clapped a hand over his mouth.

"Why aren't you going to sleep in your own bed?" Bakura asked, getting himself comfortable and then wrapping an arm around Ryou.

"It's not the same without you there keeping me warm," Ryou explained.

Bakura smiled and then returned his attention to Maria. "It's so weird," he said softly, "I feel so protective of her now that she's helpless. It's like she's a little sister to me."

"Well, she's helped you so much. It's only natural," Ryou replied as he yawned and then drifted off to sleep while still cuddled up to Bakura. Bakura rolled his eyes and then fell asleep as well.

Maria woke up the next morning and carefully sat up. Smiling when she saw Bakura and Ryou still sleeping, she tiptoed into the kitchen to find something to eat. Sighing when everything she saw needed to be cooked, Maria decided to explore.

Wandering downstairs, she looked around and recognized this place as Bakura's room. Walking around the rest of the basement, Maria bent down and picked up a book that was partially hidden. Returning to Bakura's bed, she sat down and flipped the book open to the first page.

After reading the first two pages of slanted writing, Maria realized that she was looking at Bakura's journal. After hiding the book in its spot again, she kept poking around. Finding nothing of interest, Maria went back up and entering the living room, saw Ryou waking up.

"Hey Maria," Ryou yawned as he pulled away from Bakura and stood, stretching his arms over his head, "Hungry?"

"Yes," Maria replied as her stomach growled, making Ryou laugh quietly.

"Well, you could have woken me up sooner," Ryou said as he went into the kitchen and pulled out the stuff for eggs and bacon.

"But you looked so cute and comfortable cuddled next to Bakura."

Ryou flushed happily. "Bakura didn't want to wake you up by moving you, so we spent the night on the couch," Ryou explained.

"Well apparently," Maria replied, Ryou chuckling. "What are you doing?" she asked, going to Ryou and looking over his shoulder.

"Going to be cooking. Would you like to learn?" Ryou asked, pulling out two pans.

"Okay."

"How about this, while I get the eggs going, you can start on the coffee," he suggested, "And after I talk you through that, I'll teach you how to cook bacon."

Maria complied and followed Ryou's directions pretty well except that she spilt some of the coffee. Instead of getting mad, Ryou just turned down the heat on the eggs and helped sweep it up. Once it was brewing nicely, and after Maria allowed herself to be pulled away from watching the coffee go into the pot, they started the bacon.

The first thing Bakura noticed when his mind awoke was that Ryou and Maria were both gone from being next to him. Then his hearing and sense of smell kicked in, hearing laughter and a sizzling sound, accompanied by the smell of coffee and bacon.

Smirking at the prospect of sneaking up on them, Bakura transformed into a cat and peered around the corner. Seeing both standing at the sink, Bakura padded up behind them and changed back to normal. "What smells so good?" Bakura asked and then laughed when Maria and Ryou jumped.

"Breakfast," Ryou replied scooping the eggs onto three plates and giving them to Maria, and then finishing blotting the bacon.

"I guess I woke up at the right time," Bakura mumbled, going and retrieving a cup of coffee. Ryou smiled at Maria's puzzled expression.

"All of the yamis have a thing for coffee in the morning. I know that Bakura and Marik need at least a cup of coffee first, or else they'll be cranky all day," Ryou explained to Maria. Maria nodded and started on her breakfast.

A little later, Maria was back in Ryou's pajamas after showering, sitting on the couch fixing her dress when the doorbell rang. "I got it," Ryou called, sliding down the banister and hurrying to door, Maria giggling as he stumbled.

"Hello Mai, Serenity," Ryou said as he opened the door.

"Ryou, I know I'm a high maintenance girl and all, but you didn't have to run for the door," Maria heard a female reply, followed by another female voice laughing.

"Whatever," Ryou replied, "Come in." Maria looked up as they entered the living room. "Girls, this is Maria. Maria, this is Mai and Serenity," Ryou introduced, gesturing to each Mai and Serenity.

"Wow, you are quite pretty," Mai said, looking over Maria's appearance.

"Thank you," Maria replied, "Ryou what's going on?"

"Mai and Serenity are going to take you shopping," Bakura answered, coming from the kitchen.

"But first, we have to get you dressed in something other than pajamas," Serenity said, pulling Maria to her feet. "Mai, did you bring the extra clothes?" she asked.

"Yes," Mai said circling Maria, "She'll probably fit more into my clothes. Serenity, mind helping her get dressed? She might not understand how to put a few things on."

Serenity nodded, her and Maria heading up to Ryou's room. "I'll pay you back for whatever you buy her," Ryou offered, Bakura coming up behind him.

"Don't worry about it hun," Mai laughed, ruffling Ryou's hair, "You gave me and Serenity a reason to go to the mall. You don't have to pay me back."

"If you're sure," Ryou said, getting slightly distracted by Bakura nibbling on his earlobe.

"I'm sure," Mai said as Maria and Serenity reappeared. "Ready to go?"

Yes," Maria said before looking at Ryou and Bakura.

Bakura looked Maria over. Since it was sort of cool out, Maria was wearing dark hip hugger jeans and a purple halter top covered by a denim jacket. Scanning up to her face, Bakura noticed that her gashes had closed up and were small scars now that Serenity had covered up with make-up. "Have fun," he said with a small smile.

Maria beamed and left with Serenity and Mai. Once they were gone, Ryou shifted and looked at Bakura. "Is it just me, or did her forehead heal already?" Ryou asked.

"I saw it too. Maybe Maria's powers are low and unable to replenish without her stars. If that's the case, then we better make sure she doesn't heal herself any further," Bakura added.

…

About an hour later, the three were walking around the mall, trying to find another good store to go into. Maria had several bags of clothes already, and was busy looking around at everything. "I admire you humans. You people must have so much energy to walk around this huge place," she said.

Serenity laughed as she took a bite into a pretzel that she had bought a minute ago. "We're used to it," she explained.

"So do all of the shadows in the shadow realm have such distinct shapes as you? I thought they were all wispy," Mai asked.

"Well, lots of them have a few features that are clear. For instance, usually only their face is defined. I only know of one other who is as…well, formed as I am.

"Who is that?" Serenity asked.

Maria shrugged. "Marik," she replied, "Sure he was a human at one point long ago, but his soul was badly damaged when he died. From what I heard, his soul somehow absorbed the powers of the shadow realm to heal himself, thus making him a half shadow."

"No wonder that in battle city when he summoned the shadows, he looked like he was right at home," Mai said after a pause.

Maria laughed lightly. "Just because he is half of a shadow, doesn't mean he lived in the Shadow Realm. In fact, he lived in the Millennium Rod most of the time," Maria said.

…

A few hours later, Maria returned to Ryou's house and entered. "Hello," she called. Hearing no answer, she entered further and set her bags down. Entering the living room, Maria looked around and was about to leave and look in the kitchen when she felt something land on her shoulders.

Turning her head, she found herself staring straight into the eyes of Bakura. "Hello Bakura," she said, removing him from her shoulders and stroking the cat.

/How was your shopping/ Bakura asked.

"I guess it went well," she replied gesturing to the bags. Bakura snorted and hopping out of her arms, transformed back to normal.

"I can see that. Maria, we need to talk," he said then, retrieving the Millennium Ring from a shelf and sliding it back around his neck.

"Umm, okay," Maria replied, perching her slender body on the arm of the couch, "What's up?"

"When we found you yesterday, your gashes on your forehead were pretty deep. When you left with Mai and Serenity, your gashes were healed completely. Call me crazy, but I don't think that serious of wounds heal overnight," Bakura stated, leaning against the wall as Ryou entered.

"So I healed myself. Is that a problem?" Maria asked with a shrug.

"I'll answer you question with one of my own," Ryou quietly said, "Where do you draw your power from?"

"My stars which draw them from the shadow realm."

"And what don't you have?" Bakura questioned, eyes glittering.

"My…my stars," Maria answered after a minute, eyes growing wide. "Oh my god! I totally forgot! If I use all of my powers up, and they don't regenerate, I'll be stuck as a mortal," she exclaimed.

"Which is why we don't want you to heal yourself or use anymore of my powers," Ryou said gently.

Maria sighed. "Fine, I'll try my best not to use my powers, but sometimes I do things subconsciously," she admitted.

Bakura and Ryou looked at each other and with a nod, activated their Millennium Rings. Since Maria was between them, the glow surrounded her, powered through her system, and then subsided. "What did you do?" she asked.

"Sealed your powers. That way, you can't do anything with your powers subconsciously, or consciously," Bakura explained.

"Oh," Mariana said, "I guess that's good."

Ria: I'm sorry for not updating sooner. I only get a half hour on the internet a day, so I often either forget, or just don't have time. Read and Review please! Next chapter, Maria goes to school!


	9. first day of school and the first star

Ria: I feel like such a heel for not updating last chapter sooner, but I have recently finished remodeling the room my sister used to have, and that has taken all of my time.

_'blah' _ Maria shadow form

"Blah" normal dialogue/ Maria's human form

… time/scene skip

6666666666666666666666666666666666666666666666666666666

Bakura and Ryou looked at each other and with a nod, activated their Millennium Rings. Since Maria was between them, the glow surrounded her, powered through her system, and then subsided. "What did you do?" she asked.

"Sealed your powers. That way, you can't do anything with your powers subconsciously, or consciously," Bakura explained.

"Oh," Mariana said, "I guess that's good."

…

A week and a half later, Maria was standing in front of the mirror looking over her outfit for school. Ryou had gone the day before to get her a girl's uniform, and now she was seeing how it looked on her.

"So what do you think?" Bakura asked, entering the room that she had been given, his school shirt on but half unbuttoned.

"The skirt's too short in my opinion, I never liked pink, and the bow is ridiculous!" came the reply.

Bakura laughed at that. "Yeah, but you have to live with it. Who knows? It may grow on you!" Bakura laughed again and then ducked as Maria threw a shoe at him.

"Bakura, stop teasing Maria," Ryou said, entering the room, "Ready for your first day of school both of you?"

"No," Bakura and Maria replied. Ryou just smiled and walked out, knowing that the two would follow. "I'd prefer to just wander the city like normal," Bakura grumbled as he buttoned the rest of the shirt except for one or two buttons and pulled on his jacket after running a hand through his recently trimmed locks.

Maria smiled and sat on the floor to pull on the shoe that she had retrieved after throwing it at Bakura. "This is another thing I hate about these skirts. It's impossible to bend over without flashing anyone," she grumbled as Bakura helped her up and the two started down the stairs to catch up with Ryou, who was waiting in the entry hall.

"Oh don't look so glum Bakura, you'll be fine," Ryou chirped as the three started out.

"Easy for you to say, you had prior education. Me, all I needed to know was 'treasure room that way,'"

Maria laughed. "Did they really put that in the tombs?" she asked.

"Yes, but not so obviously."

Ryou just shook his head. "You don't see Yami and Marik complaining about school, do you?" he asked.

"Like I said, prior education. Yami was a pharaoh, and Marik was at one point a tombkeeper. Haven't you ever noticed that I can barely write my name, let alone much else?" came the reply.

"Point taken. But look on the bright side, Maria probably knows just about as much as you," Marik said as he and Malik caught up to them, both having heard Bakura's statement.

Maria grinned. "Want to make a bet that I can stupefy the teachers with my accurate knowledge?" she challenged.

Malik rolled his eyes and whacked Marik on the head before he could answer. "I think an appropriate statement would be, what the hell is the most powerful shadow doing on Earth and going to school?" Malik demanded.

Maria grimaced at the memory and retold the tale. When she finished, she smirked at seeing Malik and Marik's mouths hanging open. "Okay, scratch that, you're not the most powerful shadow" Malik amended.

Maria sulked a little. "That's cruel. The only reason that my stars were taken, was that my powers were too split by defending myself, traveling through the portal, and fighting back. There were too many, and they snuck up on me," she protested.

Malik and Marik shared a look and then faced the shadow-turned-mortal. "We'll help," they said at the same time, causing Maria to smile.

"Fine, fine. That's good and all, but aren't we going to be late for school if we dawdle anymore?" Ryou asked. They all looked at each other and as one, booked it for the school.

Malik sighed as the five flew into the yard of the school and he noticed that the warning bell had not yet gone off. In fact, they had about five minutes since they ran the rest of the way.

"Come on Bakura, Maria. Let's go get you registered," Ryou said, tugging on their jacket sleeves.

"Oh goody," Bakura muttered to Maria as they followed Ryou into the building, causing her to giggle. Five minutes later found Maria, Bakura, Malik, and Ryou heading to their first class, Maria and Bakura put with either Malik or Ryou for their classes.

"Bakura, release my powers for a minute," Maria muttered, as they waited outside the classroom while Ryou and Malik talked to the teacher.

"What? Why?"

"Please, I need to do one spell, and it only takes a little of my limited power," she begged.

Bakura eyed Maria warily and then sighed. Closing his eyes, Bakura's Ring glowed and Maria felt a bubbling of power. Maria worked quickly and summoned a ball of white energy the size of a golf ball. Feeling Bakura reseal her powers, she sighed and held the ball of energy out to Bakura.

"What's that?" he asked.

Maria grinned and putting it to Bakura's forehead, pushed the ball in. Bakura let out a soft gasp at the pain in his head as his head spun violently. Maria finished pushing the ball into Bakura's head, and the pain dulled as rapidly as it had assaulted Bakura, taking the dizziness with it.

"What did you do to me?" Bakura gasped as his head throbbed lightly.

"Copied Ryou's knowledge and gave it to you. You can now read and everything, but your writing will be messy at best until you get used to it," Maria replied.

Bakura was about to ask more, when Malik reappeared at the door and beckoned them in. "Class, we have two new students today. Please welcome Ryo Bakura and…"

"Please, just call me Maria," Maria interrupted pleasantly, noticing Bakura's eye twitch at his made up first name. The teacher nodded.

"Very well, Bakura, you may have the seat next to your brother Ryou, and Maria, you may have the seat next to Malik," the teacher replied.

The two nodded and followed Malik and Ryou to their respective seats. The first few periods passed by quickly enough for Maria and Bakura, and they soon found themselves heading outside to eat lunch with the group.

"I can't stand it anymore!" Yami groaned as he flopped down on the grass next to Bakura, "Yugi, if Tea bothers me, and/or flirts with me one more time, I may snap!"

Yugi sighed and sat on the ground next to Marik, who was pillowing Maria's head in his lap, feeding her grapes one by one. "I know Yami, but do you think she will listen?"

"Why can't she realize that you're together?" Ryou asked as he pulled out a sandwich and tossed it to Bakura, who caught it and started eating.

"Trust me, we've tried everything, but she seems to believe that she is my one and only, and that I'm just pretending," Yami complained.

Maria looked up as Seto joined them and smiled suddenly. "I think I have an idea," she said with a smirk and told all of them.

"It may work…but only if you guys, especially you Yugi, don't mind," Yami said hesitantly

Yugi pondered it for a minute. "I guess…if it's only to get Tea off of your back…and it doesn't mean anything…I'm cool with it," Yugi said slowly, choosing his words. Yami's face lit up and he kissed Yugi quickly, which made the smaller boy giggle.

The others all agreed, causing Maria to smile at their trust in each other. "Here comes Tea, Joey, and Tristan," Seto warned.

Yami immediately went to Yugi and started making out with him.

Maria settled down next to Seto and just watched as the three approached. "Yami, stop it, what have I told you about this in public?" Maria scolded.

Yami pulled away from Yugi and looked at Maria, well aware that Tea was watching him. "If I want to show affection…" Yami trailed off with a sigh.

"You must show the same to the others," Maria finished coldly.

"Yes Mistress," Yami said, barely able to keep a straight face and moved over to Marik, climbed into his lap, and started making out with the ex-tombkeeper. After a few minutes, Yami moved from him to Malik, to Seto, to Ryou, and finally to Bakura.

As Bakura started making out with Yami, he deepened the action, pulling Yami into a bruising kiss. Maria just rested her head on her fist, watching the duo and then glanced at Tea. Tea looked like she was about to be sick, and Joey and Tristan were looking amused. 'Ah, so they realize what Yami's doing,' Maria thought with a barely visible smirk.

Finally Bakura and Yami broke apart, and Yami laid his head on Bakura's shoulder, still sitting in Bakura's lap. "Mmm, Bakura, you're always my favorite. You're by far the best kisser," Yami sighed, adopting a mind-blown tone.

"That's it!" Tea screeched, causing everyone to turn, "You mean to tell me that this slut has you…"

"Love every one of her other pets the same? Yes, and I rather enjoy being dominated by Marik, Bakura, Seto, and sometimes Malik. Yugi and Ryou are also perfect partners," Yami said with a non-caring look on his face.

"Why Tea, do you want a kiss too?" Maria asked as Tea opened her mouth to rant some more.

Tea shut her mouth in a surprised manner. "I-I don't know," she stuttered.

Maria smiled and stood from where Seto had pulled her into his lap and came closer. "Well, don't you? From what I heard, you've always wanted a kiss."

"Well, yes…yes I have…All right, I guess I'll have a kiss," Tea declared becoming sure of herself, obviously thinking that she could sway Yami with a girl's kiss.

"Okay," Maria said and cupping Tea's face in her hands, brought the other brunette's face closer and kissed the girl full on the lips in a hot, steamy, would-be lesbian kiss if Maria had meant it. Tea tried to struggle, but Maria, being a shadow, was much stronger and kept Tea still.

Finally pulling away when she felt her mortal body screaming for air, Maria panted slightly and smirked. "Well, how was that?" she asked.

Tea gagged. "Eww! I felt your tongue in my mouth!" she screeched.

"And I knew you liked it. I sure did," Maria cooed in a sultry voice, approaching Tea again.

"Don't touch me, bitch!" Tea snapped and stormed off. Maria and the others watched her go and then started laughing as soon as Tea was out of earshot.

"I've never seen something that amusing and amazing at the same time in my whole life! I wish I could see that kiss again!" Malik gasped, trying to calm down.

Yami smiled, having only chuckled. "Thank you," he murmured, kissing Maria on the cheek and then scooping Yugi up and sat the light on his lap

"No problem," Maria replied, "I'm still amazed that you guys threw that together with only a bit of forewarning. I even almost believed that you were all my play toys."

"So this was all to drive Tea away?" Tristan asked as he and Joey sat and they all resumed their lunches.

"Yes, and Maria was obviously the one who concocted it," Ryou admitted.

"Hey, my idea was only to have Yami make out with all of you to disgust Tea," Maria replied modestly.

Seto smiled and ruffled her hair. "Yes, but we wouldn't have if anyone else had suggested it," he pointed out.

/Yami, Marik, I think Seto finally found his double/ Bakura stated in the other two Yami's minds.

/True, but who do you think is the yami, and who is the hikari/ Marik wondered.

/Well, if their 'situation' ends up being identical to ours, I think Seto would be the yami, even though Maria has the power/ Yami piped up logically. Both Bakura and Marik smirked at the meaning that Yami implied with 'situation.'

The rest of Maria's day flew by quite quickly. Entering the house last after school, she saw Ryou smiling what could be considered a smirk at Bakura "What?" Bakura asked.

"No prior education?" Ryou asked, "You seemed to know quite a bit more than what you let on."

Bakura looked sheepish. "Okay, Maria begged me to lift the block for thirty seconds, and she cast a spell that gave me a copy of your knowledge," Bakura admitted after a bit of prodding.

Ryou frowned. "Bakura, we agreed not to lift the block! What if Maria overused her power, hmm? There would have been no chance of Maria getting her stars back!" Ryou snapped, uncharacteristically angry.

Maria backed up hesitantly. "I only did it to help Bakura. I still have a safe enough level of magic," she said hastily as Ryou turned towards her.

Ryou narrowed his eyes. "I still don't agree with this. Maybe if you had discussed this with me first, I wouldn't be so against it," he growled out, making Maria back up a little again.

"Ryou! You're scaring Maria!" Bakura scolded, stepping between the two, arms outstretched as far as he could reach, "If you want to be mad at someone, be mad at me. It was I who faltered and let Maria cast the spell." "Besides," Bakura smirked suddenly, "we can't undo it without Maria using more of her magic energy."

Ryou glared and then sighed in an exasperated manner and threw up his hands in defeat. "All right, I'll let this go, but no more lifting the block until Maria gets her stars back," he commanded.

"If you want to be technical, I just need one of my stars for you to lift the block. All three draw power, but the middle focuses it the most. I'll be fine with just one Ryou."

"How will we find them…granted that they are in the shadow realm?" Bakura asked, saving Maria from Ryou losing his temper even further.

"When we go to the Shadow Realm, they'll hopefully call to me. If not, your Millennium rings will be able to pinpoint them," Maria explained.

…

Over the next couple weeks, the three yamis watched in amusement as Maria and Seto drew undoubtedly closer. Even Ryou, Malik, and Yugi seemed to notice the bond.

"I think there's something going on between you and Seto," Malik teased Maria because Seto was busy, as the seven of them sat in a diner, munching on french fries and burgers, since Maria wanted to try them.

Maria tipped her head in a confused manner. "What do you mean?" she asked, looking at the others.

"You like Kaiba, don't you," Marik stated.

"I like all of you," she replied with a shrug as she took one of Bakura's fries since she had long finished hers.

"Not that kind of like. We mean another type of like. Kind of…" here Bakura trailed off at a loss of an explanation.

"Basically a step down from how us yamis feel about our respective lights," Yami filled in.

Maria's mouth dropped in shock, and she was about to answer when Seto came up to the table, out of breath.

"Running a marathon are we?" Malik asked sarcastically.

Seto let out a low growl and pulled up a chair and sat next to Maria, the said shadow scooting over to make room, ignoring the several smirks that her action earned. "No, I just thought I'd hurry and show you all what I just found on the internet, but I guess you don't care enough," Seto retorted

"Ignore Malik, he doesn't know what he's talking about," Marik said hastily, covering Malik's mouth with his hand, only to have Malik lick and nip it in an attempt to make him let go.

Seto arched an eyebrow and rolled his eyes. "Here," he said to Maria, pulling out his laptop and pulling the web page back up, "It concerns you, so you get to see it first."

Maria, choosing to once again ignore Bakura's and Marik's antics, took the laptop and looked at the page, only to gasp in surprise.

"What is it?" Yugi asked, the whole table going quiet at Maria's strangled gasp. Maria turned the laptop so that the others could see. "My…my star," she murmured.

Bakura took the laptop and looked at the glittering object on the screen, shown by webcam footage. "It looks like a diamond," he stated, passing the laptop to Ryou.

"That's because it is," Maria replied easily, sipping on her milkshake, missing everyone's mouth drop open, "All three of them are perfect diamonds…not one impurity."

"Didn't that hurt?" Ryou asked.

"No, I was created with them already imbedded in my head. Even I'm not sure how exactly A) they work, and B) how the other shadows managed to rip them out of my head," Maria replied.

"Anyways, the article said that a camper found it and sold it for a very high price to a collector. The writers of the article have no idea why a diamond of that much worth was out in the woods, and in such a unique cut too. Apparently, there was no backing glue or anything on it, according to what it says," Seto recited as the laptop made its way back to him and he put it away.

"How many points did it have?" Maria asked.

"Twelve…why?"

Maria just smiled and turned to Ryou. "We found my center star," she simply said. The group finished up lunch, Seto passing on eating, and all decided what to do after they left.

"I think we should go see this star of Maria's," Yugi said, earning several nods. "Seto, where is it being held?" Yugi asked.

Seto thought for a minute. "The article said that the collector was putting it on display with the rest of his collection. I'm going to see if I can buy it from him first," he stated, pulling out his cell phone and opening his laptop. A minute later, Seto had dialed the number and walked a bit away from the group.

"You do realize that my star is going to cost a lot, right?" Maria asked, following Seto.

Seto smiled and ruffled her hair. "Don't worry your pretty little head over it," he replied softly so the others wouldn't hear, still listening to the ringing phone, "I have more than enough money to buy a hundred of those diamonds."

"If you're sure," Maria said softly. When Seto nodded and shooed her away, Maria returned to her friends and watched Seto talk into the phone. About two minutes later, Seto closed the phone and rejoined the group.

"I tried," he sighed, "But that greedy collector wouldn't accept any offer."

"How much did you offer?" Ryou asked.

"You don't really need to know," Seto retorted shortly, "Let's just say that I offered that idiot over five times the worth of Maria's star. Come on, let's go see this star, and then we'll decide what to do from there."

…

A short time later, the eight were wandering around a huge gallery with a tour group. Yami and Ryou had to literally restrain Bakura from his "twitchy finger" urges at the sight of all of the jewels.

"If that star weren't mine, I'd say it did belong here with all of these jewels," Maria muttered to Seto as the tour group entered the diamond room.

Seto mutely nodded as the tour guide stopped in front of a darkened display. "Now this, everyone, is Mr. Tanaka's latest acquisition to his diamond collection. Some of you may have heard of this diamond. For those of you who haven't, it was found in the woods, not far from here, and sold to Mr. Tanaka. Everyone is baffled at how it got there, and how it was almost clean, except for some rust that was on the back of it…" the guide continued, but Maria tuned her out.

"That was no rust, that was my blood," she hissed, Bakura smirking at her indignation.

Finishing her story, the guide flipped a switch, thus illuminating the jewel, causing everyone to gasp. The diamond was about two inches from tip to tip, and gleamed in the light like a miniature sun from all of its facets. Maria moved closer and stared at the jewel.

'Star of mine, hear my voice and obey. Prove to me that you are mine and I will retrieve you,' Maria thought in her head, even though she had no way to send it, but focused that message in her eyes and stared at the diamond. Immediately, the diamond swirled with color and the glittering dimmed. Once the colors swirled through a whole rainbow, it went back to clear but then a second later, started glowing with a bright light from seemingly nowhere.

"What's making the diamond do that?" someone asked.

"I have no idea. Diamonds don't normally do that," the tour guide stammered.

Ryou forced his way over to Maria and grabbed her arm, thus breaking her concentration. "How are you doing magic?" he hissed angrily, causing all of their friends to stare at them, none of them noticing that with Maria's concentration broken, the star dimmed back into a glittering jewel.

Maria looked into the angry brown eyes and smirked lightly. "I didn't do magic. The star is mine so it listens to any mental commands of mine. I willed it to prove to me that it belonged to me and it responded."

Marik motioned for everyone to fall back as the tour moved on. "We found what we came for. Bakura, get to work," he said once they were alone in the room.

Bakura nodded and started circling the case, sometimes stopping to examine something, his eyes always scanning the room as well.

"Well?" Yami asked once Bakura stopped.

"Twelve motion sensor alarms, four cameras in the corners of the room, and tons of infrared around that star," Bakura reported, "In conclusion, a piece of cake for the Thief King.

"Wait, you're going to steal it?" Ryou cried.

"Listen. Kaiba tried to buy it…didn't work. I'm with Bakura on this. We need to steal the diamond," Yami argued, Marik nodding. Ryou sighed and nodded in acceptance.

…

That night, Seto dropped the three yamis off at the gallery and then returned home. Entering his mansion, he expected to go straight to his computer and hack into the security system of the gallery to make things easier for the three. What he didn't expect, was to have a certain Egyptian hikari stick out his foot and trip him, sending him straight into Maria, who was just coming out of the living room, sending them both to the floor.

Malik and Yugi howled in laughter as Seto and Maria realized exactly how they ended up. When Seto had knocked them both over, he had landed straight on top of Maria, their limbs entertwined from trying to catch themselves. The kicker of the whole picture was that their lips were pressed firmly together in a somewhat deep kiss.

Seto and Maria broke apart after a second and Seto scrambled off her and stood. "Very funny Ishtar," he sneered before stalking down to his basement computer.

Maria looked from in the direction that Seto disappeared, to Malik, who was fuming over being called by his last name, and back towards the basement door. Getting up, she headed down the stairs and found Seto sitting at his huge computer, typing in long lines of alphanumeric code.

"What are you doing?" Maria asked, peering over Seto's shoulder.

Seto glanced up at the screen. "Taking control of Mr. Tanaka's security system. If I can gain control for twenty minutes, Bakura, Marik, and Yami should be able to retrieve your star," he replied as static crackled over the speakers.

"_Seto, have you gotten control of the cameras yet? We're in the duct above the display," _Yami asked, his image appearing in the corner of the screen, punctuated by static.

"Give me a few more seconds…there. The security guards are going to see an empty room while you guys get the diamond. Is Bakura ready?"

_"Yeah, I'm ready. Remember Marik, lower me down slowly so I can avoid the infrared beams," _Bakura said as Yami moved the communicator to show Bakura sitting with his back to a vent opening, Marik beside him.

Marik nodded and Bakura leaned back and disappeared headfirst through the opening.

"Seto, How can Bakura avoid the infrared if it is invisible?" Ryou asked as he, Yugi, and Malik descended the stairs and joined the two watching Bakura pull out a fake shadow replica of the star and hold it in his hand, ready to be switched as he was lowered very slowly, so as not to set off any motion sensors.

"He has contacts in that allow him to see like an infrared camera does. When he sees the red beams, he'll just shift out of the way," Seto replied, trailing off as Bakura waved his hand, "Marik, stop lowering Bakura. He's close enough."

_"Roger,"_ came Marik's voice as Bakura stopped descending. Bakura reached down and using a razor blade, cut a circle into the glass of the case and caught it before the circle fell. Reaching in, Bakura just missed the diamond and suddenly snatched his hand back.

_"Kaiba,"_ Bakura hissed, _"Some of those motion sensors are focused on the star! If I touch it or shift it in the slightest, the alarm will sound."_

Seto cursed and was silent except for tapping of the keys on the keyboard. "Bakura, they're on a circuit of their own. I can't get in," he reported.

_"Marik, how fast can you pull Bakura up?" _Yami asked suddenly from where he was kneeling next to Marik, looking down at Bakura, the camera positioned across the vent from them.

_"Fast enough if you help me," _Marik replied with a smirk

"What are you two planning?" Maria asked.

_"You'll see,"_ Yami chucked quietly, _"Bakura, fuck secrecy and just snatch the damn thing."_

_"Yes sir!"_ Bakura laughed as well and snatched the diamond after banishing the copy.

Immediately he was jerked up and everyone heard alarms ringing shrilly. As soon as Bakura was pulled through, the vent slammed shut and fastened, and the three, after untying Bakura's legs, started scooting down the vent, being as quiet as possible, the communicator and diamond safely in a backpack that Yami had on his back.

Seto relinquished control of the cameras and he, Maria, Malik, Ryou, and Yugi waited in silence with bated breath until about fifteen minutes later, they heard a whisper on the other end.

_"Seto? Guys? Anyone hear me?"_ Yami asked in a voice a little above a whisper. Yugi visibly relaxed as he heard his lover speak and activated his mic that he had forgotten to turn on earlier.

"Us at 'home base' hear you. Is everyone okay?" Yugi asked.

The screen changed to show a very staticy Yami. "I'm fine, I'm working my way through the woods to the rendezvous point with Bakura as a cat keeping an ear open for anyone who might be following us," Yami replied, "I lost track of Marik though. We split to make it harder to follow."

"Marik is keeping pace with us about two hundred yards to your right Yami," Bakura said after a glow came from his Millennium Ring, thus transforming Bakura back to normal and pinpointing Marik.

Yami rolled his eyes on screen. "We'll be at the Domino arcade in about an hour."

"Okay, we'll pick you up then. Be careful you three, since Marik, I know you can hear us on your earpiece. I hear sirens filtering through one of your mics," Seto stated. He received three acknowledgements and the channels went dead.

…

An hour later found Seto and Maria riding in the limo towards the arcade to pick up the three yamis. "Seto?" Maria asked.

"Yes?" Seto asked, turning from looking out of the window.

"Umm, what did you think…about that kiss we were forced into?" Maria asked, making her way over to sit next to Seto.

Seto shrugged. "I honestly can't say. It's hard to comment on something that was unexpected," he said.

Maria nodded and looked at the floor of the limo. "Well, as shocking as it was, I liked it. I'm not sure if there was anything behind it because like you said, it wasn't planned," she answered, giving her opinion.

Seto sighed and putting a hand under her chin, lifted and turned Maria's head so that cerulean eyes met sapphire eyes. As Maria opened her mouth to ask him what he was doing, Seto closed the distance and kissed her gently on the lips.

Maria's eyes flew open in surprise but then settled down. Seto pulled away and looked into her eyes. "Was there anything behind that one?" he murmured.

Maria nodded and shyly kissed Seto. "I like you Seto…probably more than I should," she murmured after they parted again, letting her fingertips trace his chin and cheekbones.

"What do you mean more than you should?" Seto wondered.

"Well, you know that I'm not a mortal. When I get my stars back, I'm probably not going to be able to come back as often as I would like. I'm a shadow Seto, I can't often live in the mortal realm," she explained.

"You meant you won't," Seto said bluntly.

"What?"

Seto scowled at Maria. "You're the most powerful shadow in that realm," he growled, "You can live in whatever realm you want."

Maria bowed her head and didn't say anything. Seto sighed and pulled her into his arms, stroking her hair. They remained like that until the limo pulled up to the arcade and then Maria squirmed out of his arms and back onto the seat as the three yamis emerged from the arcade.

"Thanks for the ride," Marik said, flopping onto one of the lengthy benches.

Seto shrugged. Bakura and Yami climbed in as well, Bakura turning into his cat form and curling up onto Maria's lap, fell asleep.

"Is my star all right?" Maria asked, running her fingers through Bakura's silky fur, causing a subconscious purr to arise. Yami nodded and pulled out a small bundle wrapped in a soft material.

"I would open it up when we get to the mansion. We don't want to attract any unwanted attention with it," Yami murmured since Marik had also drifted off to sleep as well. "So, how are you two doing?"

"What do you mean?" Seto asked suspiciously.

"Well, you two obviously like each other. Have you kissed yet?" Yami asked slyly, taking Bakura and stroking the short fur on his head. Maria blushed and Seto just cleared his throat. "I'll take that as a yes," Yami deadpanned.

The five rode in silence until they reached Seto's mansion. When they got there, Yami roused Bakura, who sleepily transformed out, and Maria shook Marik awake.

"Are you okay Marik? You look funny," Malik asked when everyone assembled in the living room.

Marik rubbed his eyes like a child. "Of course I look odd, I just woke up," he groaned, Bakura nodding in agreement.

Yami rolled his eyes and picked up his backpack. "Maria, I believe this belongs to you," he said, handing the little bundle over.

Maria took the package and unwrapped it, revealing the sparkling star. Bakura had even swiped the velvet that it had been sitting on in the case. Picking it up, Maria smiled and looked at Ryou. "Do you want to see my little trick now?" she asked.

Ryou nodded, and even Marik and Bakura looked awake and alert as the diamond started to shimmer in a weird way. "Okay, I'll say the same thing I said to it in my mind in the gallery. Star of mine, hear my voice and obey. Prove to me that you are mine and I will retrieve you," she said, setting the diamond onto the velvet and sitting back.

"I'm picking up a ton of mental energy," Marik said, now fully awake, the third eye on his forehead glowing in response as the diamond once again swirled and then started glowing a blinding white.

"Okay Maria! We get your point!" Malik exclaimed, covering his eyes. Immediately the glow dimmed to a bearable level until it stopped.

"Sorry, this star is the hardest to control," Maria apologized, picking the star back up.

"So are you going to return it to its original spot now?" Yugi asked, tapping his forehead.

Maria nodded and put the star to her forehead and pressed firmly with the heel of her hand. Nothing happened. "I don't understand it," Maria murmured, "It should have refused."

Bakura thought for a second and was about to suggest something when his Millennium Ring and Maria's diamond started to glow, cutting him off. "Ryou! We have to let Maria's powers free. The star can't fuse with er powers blocked," Bakura urged. Ryou nodded, and the two released their control.

Maria held the diamond in her palm, causing it to start glowing and levitate. "This is new," she murmured in awe as a blinding light once more filled the room. Everyone shielded their eyes, unable to see at all. Waiting for the light to subside, the seven boys were suddenly aware of Maria crying out in what sounded like pain, followed by what sounded like her collapsing on the floor.

Ria: I'm sorry for not updating sooner. I have…get ready for it…been in Egypt for the past three months on a foreign exchange program! Exciting, yes, but I should be able to update faster no that I'm back!


	10. pranks & challenges

Ria:

_'blah' _ Maria shadow form

"Blah" normal dialogue/ Maria's human form

… time/scene skip

6666666666666666666666666666666666666666666666666666666

Maria held the diamond in her palm, causing it to start glowing and levitate. "This is new," she murmured in awe as a blinding light once more filled the room. Everyone shielded their eyes, unable to see at all. Waiting for the light to subside, the seven boys were suddenly aware of Maria crying out in what sounded like pain, followed by what sounded like her collapsing on the floor.

"Maria!" Bakura exclaimed, trying to go to her, but was thrown back by waves of energy acting as a shield to the girl. "Damn it! No one go near her! Her diamond is out of control! It won't let anyone get close," Bakura called out.

Marik found his way over to Bakura with Yami right behind him. "Why don't we try to bring it under control. The power it's releasing is no match for the three of us combined," Marik suggested.

Bakura nodded and stood. "You're being the channeler though," he replied as the Millennium Ring started to glow slightly.

Marik stood, as did Yami. Brandishing the Millennium Rod, Marik concentrated on his power as he felt Bakura and Yami put a hand on each of his shoulders and channel their power into him. Sennen eye glowing on all three of their foreheads, the three yamis shot a beam of power into the shield of white light.

At first it seemed like nothing happened, but as they threw in raw shadow power, the light in the room dimmed more and more until Maria's star stopped glowing with a shimmer.

"Is she okay?" Ryou asked, going to Maria and propping her head up.

"Did the star fuse?" Bakura retorted with a soft snort, him Yami and Marik collapsed on the floor, using each other for support.

Malik looked Maria's forehead over. "Yes, the star is back in its place. You can't even tell that it was even pulled out. The skin melds right into the diamond," he reported.

"Well now that we know Maria's safe, let's get some sleep," Seto spoke, picking up Maria and taking her up the stairs. "I don't care where you guys sleep, as long as that's all you do in my rooms," he added, turning at the top of the stairs to regard the three couples before heading down the hall to his room.

Entering the room, Seto shut the door softly with his foot and laid Maria gently on his bed. Pulling the covers over the sleeping form, Seto took off his trench coat and sitting in a chair next to the bed, watched Maria sleep until he too fell asleep.

An hour or so later, Maria woke up from a nightmare. Feeling a soothing sensation calming her mind, Maria felt her forehead and sighed in relief. "Hidiyya, I have you back finally," she murmured to her star, feeling it pulse happily before looking around after realizing that she was in a way different and larger room than she normally slept in.

Seeing Seto slumped over the edge of the bed, Maria smiled and crawling over, brushed the stray bangs out of Seto's eyes and softly kissed him on the forehead. Seto stirred, and opening his eyes slowly, sat up.

"How are you feeling?" Seto asked quietly, when he saw who had woken him up.

"Better, Hidiyya didn't mean to harm me. The merge was just too overwhelming," Maria replied, "And you didn't have to put me in your bed."

"I felt like it…wait, Hidiyya?" Seto asked, more alert.

"That's the name of my star. It's not just a power-channeling diamond, it basically has a mind of its own…which could be why it's so hard to control sometimes," Maria explained before yawning.

"I think someone is tired," Seto teased. Maria nodded and returned to her spot where she was sleeping. Once she was situated under the covers, Maria looked at Seto before patting the bed next to her. "Are you sure?" he asked. When Maria nodded, Seto stood and went to a dresser. "I'm changing first though," he said, "want some pajamas too?"

Maria thought and nodded. Seto tossed her a pair and headed into his bathroom to change. Maria quickly changed from her jeans and halter top into the borrowed silken pajamas and was snuggled up under the covers before Seto reentered.

Seto deposited his day clothing in his laundry basket before climbing under the covers to lay next to Maria. Maria curled up to him and then laughed. "I can't cuddle you, we're too slippery!" she giggled.

Seto rolled his eyes in a playful manner and wrapped his arms around Maria. Smiling at the girl, he couldn't help but kiss those soft lips that he had the privilege of kissing twice before.

Maria kissed Seto back, sliding her eyes shut and entwining her fingers into his hair. When they parted for air, Maria yawned again and rested her head on Seto's chest before falling asleep.

The next thing Maria knew, she wasn't in Seto's bed anymore, but curled up next to Seto on a sort of ground. Sitting up, she saw that she was once more in her Shadow dress and was glowing like she did when she was in the Shadow Realm.

_'Seto, wake up,'_ she whispered, shaking the CEO's shoulder firmly.

Seto opened his eyes and then scrambled up into a standing position when he realized where they were. "Maria, are we…" Seto trailed off, his mind vaguely noticing that he was dressed in his usual black with his white sleeveless trenchcoat on once more.

_'In the Shadow Realm? Yes,'_ Maria finished with a sigh.

_"Not to worry, for you are only here in your dreams,"_ a voice said behind them. Turning, Maria and Seto saw a shadow that strongly resembled a woman floating behind them.

_'Mina, what's going on?' _ Maria demanded.

_"Relax. I have come to applaud your efforts to get Hidiyya back. I also disagree with the way things have transpired with the shadows. Maria, they are trying to harness and control your other stars,"_ Mina soothed

_'They can't. Madi and Mustabal won't work for anyone but me,' _Maria insisted.

_"They're finding a way around that. They're controlling them with a shadow they created that is like you in every aspect except for the fact that she is dark and an evil twin."_

"What do we need to do in order to get Maria's stars back?" Seto demanded.

Mina smiled. _"You must pass two more tests before your evil twin absorbs their power. Hidiyyah's test required skill and teamwork. I do not know what the other two tests are. I just came to warn you, and to inform you that Madi and Mustabal are both in the Shadow Realm. I wish you good luck,"_ she said as the realm dissolved around them and Maria sat up straight in bed, panting.

"Maria? What is it?" Seto asked sitting up, startled awake by Maria's sudden movement.

Maria saw the sun starting to peep through the curtains and turned to face Seto. "Did you just have a weird dream?" she asked.

Seto made a face and thought. "Yes," he said slowly, "we were in the Shadow Realm, talking to another shadow, and she told us…"

"…that we have to pass two other challenges in order to get my stars back!" Maria interrupted.

Seto slid out of bed. "Well, I'm up now. I was wondering though, what is with the names of the stars?" he asked as he pulled out fresh clothes and moved into the bathroom, leaving the door ajar slightly so they could still talk.

"Madi, Hidiyya, and Mustabal. Past, present, and future," Maria explained, pointing to each spot on her forehead in turn as Seto reemerged from the bathroom fully dressed.

"Forget I asked," he teased and dodged the pillow aimed at his head. "By the way," he started, a thoughtful look on his face, "what will we do about…Hidiyya? You can't walk around with a two inch diamond implanted in your head."

Maria laughed and stood, kissing Seto on the cheek as she passed him. "You leave that to me," she murmured before she left to go downstairs for breakfast.

…

A few minutes later, Bakura awoke from where he was sleeping back to back with Yami on the floor of the living room, their hikaris stretched out on the couch and loveseat. Sniffing the air, he slithered out of his sleeping bag and stood, arching his back and feeling pops race up and down his spine.

"Yami, wake up," he called softly in a singsong voice. Giving the ex-pharaoh a good shake, Bakura was rewarded by a whine of protest

"What do you want Bakura?" Yami asked, sitting up and running a hand through his messy hair.

Bakura bit back a snort at the disheveled appearance. "Breakfast which equals coffee," he replied, seeing Yami's eyes light up. Helping the pharaoh stand, Bakura led the way into the kitchen where Maria sat eating breakfast, and Seto stood at the stove cooking for the rest of the group.

…

Malik yawned and entered the kitchen, blinking when he saw that everyone but Marik was assembled and eating. "You guys didn't wake me or Marik up?" he fake pouted before taking a seat next to Seto and helping himself to eggs and tater tots.

"Felt like letting you sleep some. Where's Marik?" Bakura asked, drinking down the last of his third cup of coffee, Yami following with the last of his second.

"Still sleeping. What are you planning?" Malik asked between mouthfuls, seeing Bakura's devilish smirk creep across his face.

Yami caught on to the idea in Bakura's mind and mirrored the smirk. "Seto, do you have any shaving cream?" he asked.

Seto knew where this was going. "Upstairs hall bathroom, second shelf. There's a long turkey feather in the guest room next to mine," he replied without even looking up. The two yamis immediately stood and raced silently up the stairs.

Nothing was heard for a few minutes except for a faint 'pshhh' soon after the two ran upstairs. Suddenly, there came an angry yell followed by pounding feet as Bakura and Yami ran down the stairs and hid, Bakura transforming into a cat and hiding under the couch while Yami ducked into the pantry so he could see through the slats, but Marik wouldn't be able to see him.

Maria started laughing as Marik entered. Marik's face was covered in shaving cream. Malik chuckled too when he spotted his lover. "If only that were whipped cream. I'd lick it off then," Malik sighed wistfully, causing everyone to laugh.

"I am sooo gonna get those two back, wherever they may be hiding," Marik growled before leaving to wash his face off. When he returned, he sat next to Malik and started on breakfast. Maybe he'd be more merciful to Bakura and Yami after he had eaten.

Marik finished up eating a few minutes later and stood, going into the living room with a small smirk on his face. Hearing a loud cat screech, Seto snorted and took a drink of his coffee. "Sounds like he found Bakura," he stated as Marik entered, holding a human Bakura slightly off the ground by the scruff of his neck.

"Ow! Damn it Marik let me down! I can walk on my own!" Bakura snarled while struggling, but stopping when Marik increased the pressure on the tomb robber's neck.

Marik dropped Bakura into a chair. "Stay," he said, pointing the Millennium Rod at Bakura and walking away to find Yami. Bakura tried to get up and failing, cursed and crossed his arms.

Yami, seeing that Marik had left the room, allowed the puzzle to glow, breaking his friend from Marik's control. Opening the pantry, Yami bolted for the glass door in the kitchen that led to the backyard, Bakura on his heels.

"Get back here!" Marik roared, flying into the kitchen and after the two yamis after feeling his control on Bakura vanish.

"They'll be gone for a while," Ryou chuckled, watching the ensuing chase around Seto's huge property.

Malik nodded. "My yami is a hothead and won't give up until those two pay somehow," he sighed and then fixed his attention on Maria. "I was wondering, and I probably speak for everyone here, but how are you going to hide your diamond? It'll look suspicious having a diamond that most likely is reported stolen by now in your forehead," he pointed out.

"Who said I had to show the diamond?" she asked pointing to the diamond. When everyone fixed their attention from the chase outside to the diamond, Maria made the diamond vanish.

Yugi ran a finger over Maria's forehead. "You can still feel it," he pointed out.

"Feel again," she replied and Yugi complied, feeling smooth skin instead of cold diamond.

"That's so neat!" he exclaimed, "Will you be able to do that with your other stars?"

Maria smiled wistfully. "Yes, I'll show you when I retrieve the other two. Speaking of which, Seto and I were told how to recover them," she answered. Then, she and Seto proceeded to retell the dream to the hikaris.

"It sounds like a trap," Marik said from where he was leaning against the counter near the back door.

"When did you get in?" Malik asked, turning to receive a kiss from Marik.

"Tail end of story. I heard the part about two tests needing to be passed before an evil shadow copy can absorb Maria's two other stars," Marik explained.

"What did you do to Yami and Bakura?" Seto wondered suspiciously.

Marik smirked wickedly as Yami entered soaking wet. "I threw Yami into the big pond/small lake you have after I forced Bakura to climb up into a tree," he chuckled at the glare he was receiving from the ex-pharaoh before said pharaoh headed upstairs to take a shower.

Ryou smacked his forehead with a hand. "You do realize Bakura is afraid of heights, right?" he asked.

Marik sat back down in his chair and tugged Malik onto his lap. "I was aware," Marik replied, running his fingers through Malik's hair, making his hikari sigh and fall into a light doze, "That is why I made him climb a tree as high as he could go and told him to have fun. He's probably scared stiff."

Ryou sighed in exasperation and headed outside to find his stranded yami.

A while later, everyone was dressed and assembled. "So are we going after the stars now?" Ryou asked.

"We have to," Maria replied, Hidiyya glowing, causing a rift to open that led to the Shadow Realm. Stepping through, Maria looked around. _'This way,'_ she pointed, changing back into her shadow form.

The eight walked until Yami felt an odd weight settle on his shoulders. "Umm Maria, what's with the armor?" he asked, noticing that everyone had one as well. Even Maria's dress had reverted to armor that wasn't the most modest piece of clothing. It was a strapless skintight bodysuit that showed a good deal of the shadow's cleavage due to the hard armor forcing her breasts up.

"Maria, you look like a white Dark Magician Girl," Bakura snorted.

Maria looked herself over and grimaced. Bakura was right. The only thing different from the DMG's body part of the outfit was the material and its color obviously, and the parts that went over the arms. _'The Realm is aware of the challenges and is equipping us for it,'_ she answered, retrieving the answer through Hidiyya.

"Either way, I'm sure Seto isn't complaining about your outfit," Marik teased. Seto glared at him and continued walking, Maria hurrying to catch up and lead the way.

"Did you guys hear something?" Malik asked a while later, pausing and turning his head towards where he thought the sound came from. Marik turned back to his lover and listened.

"I hear a soft scraping or grinding," Marik replied softly. Everyone stopped and tried to pick up the sound. Suddenly walls shot up, splitting the group into three smaller ones. As the walls grew too high to climb, Maria stood with Marik and Yugi and looked around.

"What does this look like to you?" Yugi asked Marik once the grinding stopped.

"I feel like a rat trapped in a maze," Marik muttered, going to the closest wall and banging on it. "Malik? Malik are you okay?" he called.

There was silence and then a faint pounding resonated from the wall. "Marik? Marik I'm fine, but what is this?" Malik's voice came through faintly.

_'It's the next challenge. We must be in a labyrinth,' _Maria said logically in her voice that could be heard quite clearly even though she didn't shout, _'Who is with you?'_

"Yami and Ryou. How do you plan to get out of here?" Malik asked.

/Me and Seto have an idea/ Bakura replied in their minds/We think that if by the sound of your voices, Malik and his group were to follow the wall to their right, they'll come across Maria's group. If we manage to meet up or not, follow the right-hand wall. It will eventually lead to where we have to go/

Everyone glanced at their group members and nodded. Following the wall after a few minutes, Maria heard footsteps_. 'Marik, Yugi, quiet. I hear something,' _she whispered. The other two nodded and inched forward silently.

Rounding the corner, Maria shrieked at coming face to face with Yami. "Yami!" Yugi exclaimed, leaping into his lover's arms. Yami caught the boy and nuzzled the tri-colored hair.

Marik chuckled and embraced Malik who emerged from where Yami had come from, Ryou right behind him.

"Did we reach the end?" Ryou asked.

Maria consulted Hidiyya. _'We're in a central chamber. Let's wait here for Bakura and Seto,'_ she replied. As the others settled down, Maria looked around the room, her star lighting up a few feet in front of her. Feeling drawn to a certain wall, Maria felt a source of power from within the wall.

Feeling the wall, Maria felt a pull in the right side of her forehead. _'Guys, I found my star!' _she called. Feeling something light land on her shoulder, Maria turned and found Bakura sitting on her shoulder in cat mode, his black armor shrunk and changed to fit his form and cover his body sufficiently.

/Now the question is how to get it out/ he purred as everyone, now including Seto, came up.

"Well, we should figure out what this test requires," Yami suggested.

"Well, it involves strategy, because we had to find a method to reunite all of us," Yugi pointed out.

Malik thought for a minute, staring at the wall. "Seto, if we punch it, do you think we can break through to the star?"

Seto studied the wall and shrugged. At the same time, both drew back their fists and punched the wall with all they had right near each other.

Ryou crept forward and felt the wall. "No give," he reported.

"Don't worry, we'll get it out," Malik told Maria.

Maria nodded. _'I trust you, Malik,'_ she replied.

Malik felt a power flow through him right after Maria said that. Backing up, Malik charged the wall and rammed it with his shoulder.

/Well if that doesn't beat all/ Bakura laughed from where he was still on Maria's shoulder. Everyone looked closer and started laughing as well as Malik tried to free himself. His shoulder plate was pointed like the Dark Magicians', and the point had smashed into the wall and actually broke through but now it was stuck.

Freeing his armor, Malik reached into the hole and grasped the star. Pulling it out, he noticed that this seven pointed star was about a half inch smaller than Maria's 12-point star. "Here," he said, handing over the diamond.

Maria nodded in thanks and happily took the star. Feeling Bakura jump down off her shoulder, Maria allowed her star to levitate and merge with a quick flash of warm light and energy.

"What's that star's name?" Yami asked as Bakura transformed back to human next to him.

'_Her name is Madi. That means past,'_ Maria answered.

"It looks like everytime you regain a star, you armor is added to," Seto pointed out. Maria now had jointed leg guards traveling all the way up to disappear under her short skirt, and armor sleeves that went to just below the shoulder

Ryou laughed. "It looks like she is wearing stockings and arm warmers," he added.

Maria smiled_. 'Don't laugh so hard,' _she said calmly, _'some of you look quite ridiculous with some of your armor components missing. Everytime I get a star, your armor gets better as well.'_

"How about we keep going," Yami suggested, motioning to the walls that were disappearing. His armor had all of the components except for armguards. His head gear was like his pharaoh's crown except for its crimson color and the nose guard that came down and spread under his eyes to form a mask of sorts. Then from his chest and shoulder armor, red metal rose around his neck and covered his chin and jaw.

"I'm surprised you can still talk with that on," Seto mocked.

'I have a feeling that we all will have armor like that for our heads,' Maria replied before turning and heading off in the direction of her final star

hidiyya- (Hid-ee-yhah)roughly translates to present

madi- (Ma-dee) past

mustabal- (Moo-sta-ball) future

Ria: I'm sorry for not updating sooner. I have…get ready for it…been in Egypt for the past three months on a foreign exchange program! Exciting, yes, but I should be able to update faster now that I'm back!


	11. final challenge and Dark Battle

Ria:

_'blah' _ Maria shadow form

"Blah" normal dialogue/ Maria's human form

… time/scene skip

6666666666666666666666666666666666666666666666666666666

"How about we keep going," Yami suggested, motioning to the walls that were disappearing. His armor had all of the components except for armguards and lower torso. His head gear was like his pharaoh's crown except for its crimson color and the nose guard that came down and spread under his eyes to form a mask of sorts. Then from his chest and shoulder armor, red metal rose around his neck and covered his chin and jaw.

"I'm surprised you can still talk with that on," Seto mocked.

'_I have a feeling that we all will have armor like that for our heads,'_ Maria replied before turning and heading off in the direction of her final star.

No one said anything for a while as they walked. Each were lost in their own thoughts on what the last test would be like.

"Maria, what do you think this last challenge will be like?" Yugi asked as all of them walked.

Maria sighed. _'I'm not sure, but knowing the shadows, it's going to be tough,'_ she replied.

As soon as she finished saying that, a building loomed out of the darkness. "What the…" Marik started.

'_It's the heart of the Shadow Realm. All of the most powerful shadows reside here,'_ Maria explained with a sigh, 'Do all of you have your decks?'

Everyone blinked at each other. "Of course we do," Seto, Yami, and Yugi said at the same time, pulling out their decks. Ryou and Bakura brought out their decks, at the same time Malik and Marik did.

Maria nodded. _'Good,' _she said and her two stars glowing, created something that looked like a duel disk for each of them. _'You'll need this,'_ she continued.

"How does it work?" Bakura asked, sliding his deck into the slot.

'_It works like Seto's duel disks. When you play a monster, it will appear out here in the Realm. Magic and Trap cards work as well.'_ Without waiting for a response, she turned and led the way into the building.

Looking down the long hall, Ryou held Bakura's hand and started forward after Maria. No one spoke as they walked and came to a huge set of doors that swung slowly open.

"Wait, I have a bad feeling about this," Seto said as they entered.

'_I don't sense anything,'_ Maria said just as the doors slammed shut behind them without a seam.

Insane laughter rang out through the vast room. "Seven humans? That's all you brought to regain your last star?" the voice mocked.

Maria bristled. _'I'm sick of your games Sankaf, give me back Mustabal!'_ she shouted, _'My friends are more than enough!'_

Sankaf only laughed and sent a burst of raw shadow energy straight at Maria, knocking her back as it collided with her armor.

"Come on! We have to help!" Bakura said, drawing a card. Looking at it, he smirked evilly and placed the card on a monster slot. "I summon Dark Necrofear!" he called, his favorite monster appearing next to him. The others all drew and summoned their cards.

"I summon Change of Heart!" Ryou called, placing his magic card down.

"Blue-Eyes White Dragon!"

"Dark Magician!"

"Winged Dragon of Ra!"

"Humanoid Slime!"

"Shining Abyss!"

The monsters appeared next to their masters, poised and ready. "Attack!" came the unanimous command and all rushed forward around Maria and surged forward.

Maria pushed herself up and spit out a mouthful of blood. Staggering to her feet, she stood next to Bakura, watching the monsters charge towards where they thought Sankaf was. "Are you okay?" Bakura murmured.

Maria nodded and wiped a trail of blood from her mouth. Another blast came and hit Humanoid Slime. Marik doubled over and gasped for breath as his monster gathered itself back together. The other's directed their monster's sights on the area of the blast and attacked all at once.

"You are all fools. You don't even know where your enemy is," Sankaf laughed.

"Everyone split up! Winged Dragon of Ra! Light up the room!" Yami commanded. Immediately the room brightened and everyone looked around.

Maria closed her eyes and started to let Hidiyya and Madi scan the room when she felt something close around her throat. Letting out a choked scream, Maria was lifted off of the ground and rose towards the ceiling. Opening her eyes, she came face to face with Sankaf.

"Everyone call off your monsters or your friend dies right now," Sankaf commanded, turning Maria around and using her as a shield.

"Maria! I know you're stronger than him! Break free!" Bakura called up.

"Not without her final star she can't," Sankaf snarled, tightening his grip on the other shadow's throat, Maria making a choking sound and weakly trying to break free.

/Bakura, If that shadow was near Maria the whole time, what was causing the blast/ Yami asked in Bakura's mind.

/Maria's star/ Bakura realized and ducking behind Yami transformed into a cat and slunk off, Yami dimming Ra enough to give Bakura some cover.

"Yami we have to free her," Yugi said softly as Maria's struggles started to lessen, "She's dying!"

/No she won't/ came Bakura's voice. Cat Bakura jumped onto Yami's shoulder and crouching, leaped onto Ra, running skillfully up to the dragon's head. From there, he leaped again and transformed into his shadow form as he flew and managed to grab hold of Maria's foot. Carefully hanging there, he noticed that the shadow idiot hadn't noticed him. Transforming back to normal, Bakura reached up and held the final star against Maria's palm.

Maria didn't respond for a second and then weakly curled her fingers around the diamond. _ 'Hidiyya, Madi, I call upon you in my most desperate time. Rejoin Mustabal to me and grant me the protection of past, present, and future,'_ she murmured, holding her hand out and uncurling the fingers. Immediately Madi and Hidiyya glowed with a brightness that rivaled Ra's, Mustabal following shortly.

Bakura struggled to hang on as the diamond merged with Maria and was aware of Sankaf reaching down and plucking him off in a death grip to the tomb robber's neck. "You'll pay for that, brat," he hissed, shaking Bakura violently as Maria's light barrier grew, forcing him away from the girl.

Bakura faintly heard the cries of his friends and tried to stop his mind from spinning. Sankaf wasn't done. He threw Bakura against the wall and pinned him there by only his throat. "I know you, brat. You're Thief King Bakura. How the mighty have fallen," he snarled and was suddenly hit from behind with a bolt of light.

_'Leave him alone!' _Maria growled, all three stars in place on her forehead. Sankaf turned and regarded the white shadow with mild amusement.

"You wish for me to release this human?" he asked in a dangerous tone. Maria nodded and then realized the fault in that as Sankaf took his hand away from Bakura's throat and let the albino fall. "There, I released him," Sankaf laughed.

Maria flipped over and dove for Bakura but he just had too much of a head start, but he transformed into a kitten to hopefully lessen the impact. Just as it seemed hopeless for Bakura to be saved, Change of Heart swooped and caught Bakura just before he hit the floor.

_'You'll pay for that, Sankaf,'_ Maria hissed, her stars pulsing with color. Before Sankaf could reply, Maria flew up and summoning a spear, gutted Sankaf like a fish.

Everyone could only watch in a mix of amazement and horror as Maria ripped the shadow from limb to limb. _'Call back your monsters,'_ Maria sighed finally, sinking down gently to land in Seto's arms, _'we passed this challenge. I don't know how though.'_

"I do," Bakura murmured from where he was sitting on the ground rubbing his neck.

Everyone turned to stare at him. "What were the traits we needed to pass?" Yami asked.

"Stealth, love, and determination," Bakura listed, "We all loved Maria enough to protect her when she got blasted, I used stealth to sneak to the star, and I was determined to save her even though I got choked as a result."

Maria smiled and closed her eyes. _'Armor Completion,' _she said quietly and everyone watched as shining silver metal covered the rest of her chest, neck, and back, spreading to her chin, jaw and face. White shoulder guards rose out of the metal and what got everyone's attention was the fact that white and silver fairy wings sprouted from her back.

"What's with the wings?" Seto asked.

Maria opened her eyes which were surrounded by a mask like Yami's. _'I've always had wings, but they're only visible when I'm in my armor because they meld with my dress. My wings also won't appear if I don't have all three of my stars. All of you can add special touches to your armor if you want,'_ she explained.

Malik shrugged and closing his eyes, completed his armor and grew dragon wings, as did Marik.

Yami added a cape, Yugi giggled and added the Dark Magician staff to his purple armor. Ryou thought for a second and added two long knives. Bakura grinned at Ryou's choice and added arm blades to his armor.

"What are you picking Seto?" Ryou asked as everyone looked each other's complete armor over and made comments. Seto smirked and a long sapphire blue armored tail shot out and curved, twisting in the air before settling down.

"A tail," Seto replied simply.

"Maria, if we recovered your stars, why did we need to complete our armor?" Yugi realized.

Maria slid out of Seto's arms and stood staring off into the darkness. When Yugi repeated his inquiry, Maria's stars started to glow softly. _'Remember the dream I told you about?'_ she asked, not taking her eyes off of the darkness.

Yugi nodded, as did the others. "What are you looking for?" Marik asked.

_'My dark copy.'_ At that, Maria lifted off of the ground with a flutter of her wings and flew off into the darkness. Marik and Malik flew after her and everyone else followed at a run.

Maria led everyone out of the building and deep into the Shadow Realm. Suddenly, she stopped, hovering in the air. In front of them stood another shadow. She looked like Maria, but wore pitch black instead of white, and her stars were of obsidian and not diamond.

'So good to meet you, Maria,' the shadow hissed.

Maria growled. _'Why were you created?'_ she demanded.

'Easy, the shadows knew that you were going to retrieve your stars, and they wanted to wait until you retrieved those pathetic diamonds before releasing me. My only order is to destroy you. The realm has no use for a shadow like you,' the shadow hissed.

"We'll help," Seto murmured, going to step next to Maria as she landed, but was stopped as she threw her arms out.

_'No, leave this to me,' _she said before walking forward, the seven obeying her wishes and staying back. The two shadows faced off for a split second before there was a flurry of movement. Dark Maria attacked, forcing Maria to duck and defend. Maria struggled with a light shield before being overpowered and get sent flying backwards to land at her friends' feet.

"Maria, let us help you," Ryou said gently, helping the shadow sit up.

_'No, I'd never forgive myself if any of you got hurt. I can do this myself,'_ Maria said, holding her stomach as she stood and attacked Dark Maria. Summoning her spear, Maria stabbed at the dark shadow, but the other summoned a wave of shadow magic to deflect the attack. Before Maria could catch her balance, Dark Maria delivered a kick to her back, sending her to the floor.

"Bakura! Yami! Stay here," Seto commanded as the two started forward.

Bakura and Yami looked at each other and then back at Seto. "Sorry Kaiba, but we're not about to let our friend get killed," Yami said before the two ran to the white shadow. Seto sighed and followed them, everyone else following as well.

_'I-I told you guys to stay away. It's too dangerous,' _Maria groaned, struggling to rise but was hurting from a dent in her armor on both her back and stomach, 'I don't want to see you get hurt.'

"Do you think we want to see you get hurt?" Marik demanded.

_'Well…I…'_ Maria stammered.

"Stop acting like a hero and admit you need help. We're willing to help you," Malik added softly.

_'Thank you,'_ Maria sighed and allowed them to help her up. Bakura took the front and summoned Dark Necrofear. Everyone else except Ryou summoned their monsters and formed a wall in front of them.

"Look at all of you cowering behind your monsters," Dark Maria sneered, "I'll destroy all of them at once, but I'll give you three minutes to try to make a decent plan and then attempt to execute it."

"What do we do?" Yugi asked, as the eight huddled together to brainstorm.

Maria sighed in exhaustion_. 'We need to end this. Most of you can't stand the Shadow Realm for much longer,'_ she stated before looking around. Seeing Bakura's arm blades, and Ryou's knives, Maria grinned. _'I may have an idea though,'_ she continued, manifesting a whip for Yami.

Yami took the whip and everyone leaned in to hear the plan.

"Time's up. Attack me now with whatever pitiful plan you have," Dark Maria called.

_'Very well. Monsters, attack!'_ Maria commanded from behind the monsters. The monsters fired long distance shots that exploded just short of Dark Maria, causing a ton of smoke. It was so thick, Dark Maria didn't see the two shapes swoop in with the smoke and settle behind her.

_'Second wave! Charge!'_ Maria called and the monsters moved forward in a full out run. Dark Maria wiped out the monsters with well aimed blasts, causing more smoke.

"Decent strategy, but it failed all the same. You lose!" the dark shadow cackled.

"Who said it failed?" came a voice next to her. Before the shadow could do anything, a pair of hands grabbed each wrist and lifted her into the air a little off the ground. Hearing a whip crack, Dark Maria winced when a whip coiled itself around her ankle and a third pair of hands tying the whip in place and then pulling it. Finally, she felt a metal tail coil around her other ankle.

Struggling against her binds, Dark Maria looked around and saw four of the seven humans holding her in place. "You fell for it perfectly. You didn't expect the four of us to fly in with the smoke and get behind you. It proved to be your undoing," one of the blondes holding her wrists explained.

Just then, the shadow heard a shout. _'Yugi! Ryou! Attack!'_ Maria called from a short distance away. Immediately two figures leapt from the smoke and struck the shadow, one with a magic staff, the other with two long knives.

_'Now Bakura, strike her but don't kill her,'_ Maria instructed. Bakura nodded and leapt out of the smoke and towards the shadow, brandishing his arm blades. Hearing a scream of pain a moment later, Maria swept the smoke to either side and strode forward.

_'Let her go, it is no longer necessary to restrain her,'_ Maria ordered.

"But…" Yami started but was cut off by a silencing glare from Maria. Reluctantly, the four let Dark Maria go and moved to stand with the others.

Maria fluttered her wings and flew closer, landing daintily in front of the other shadow. _'You guys may want to turn away. What I must do is quite gruesome,' _she said after a silence.

Ryou, Yugi, and Malik turned away, but the others watched as Maria knelt and absorbed her dark counterpart through her stars. /She was right/ Bakura thought to Yami and Marik/that was gruesome/

The other two yamis grimaced and nodded. _'It's all right to look now,'_ Maria called softly. When they were all facing her again, Maria smiled, her stars glowing softly. _'I want to thank you for helping me, so I decided to grant you all one wish each,'_ she said.

The seven mortals huddled together once Maria gave them time to discuss. "I know what I want," Seto stated calmly.

Yugi chewed on his lip. "I think I know," he added.

Ryou looked at the other four. "I know what I want, but it's too big for one wish. I need your help."

"Depends on what it is," Malik stated, flapping his armor wings, raising up into the air and hovering a foot off the ground.

Ryou blushed faintly. "I want Bakura to be happy. And the only thing stopping him is his body, so I want him to regain his old form," he stated.

Malik landed on his feet with a soft thump and stared. "Ryou…that's so sweet," he murmured, "I'll give up my wish to help."

Marik, Yami, and Bakura nodded in agreement as well. "We're ready," Ryou told Maria.

Maria nodded. _'Ryou, we'll start with you. What do you wish for?'_

"Malik, Marik, Bakura, Yami, and I wish for Bakura to regain his old form."

Maria looked surprised but then frowned. _'Are you sure? There may be unforeseen consequences,'_ she warned. When the five nodded, she sighed and rising into the air waved her hand, her stars glowing with a dazzling light that engulfed Bakura. When the light faded, Bakura was still the same. _'The changes will slowly take effect once we leave the Shadow Realm,'_ she explained at everyone's puzzled faces.

Yugi stepped up next. "I wish for Yami to regain his memories," he stated.

_'That is one of the few things I can't grant. It's up to Yami to unlock his memories.'_

Yugi thought for a minute and then a lightbulb went on. "Then I wish that Tea would leave Yami alone and lose her attraction to him."

Maria actually laughed at that. _'Done,' _she chuckled, her stars briefly glowing, _'Seto, what is your wish?'_

Seto smirked. "I wish for you to return to the mortal realm with us and live there primarily as a mortal, and a glowing shadow on the side," he voiced.

Maria's mouth dropped open and she fluttered in the air indignantly. Just as she was about to deny his wish, Madi, Hidiyya, and Mustabal glowed brilliantly and engulfed Maria in a sphere of light before fading, causing the girl to fall out of the air, to be caught in Seto's arms.

"Bakura, get us out of here," Seto said, cradling Maria close as the shadow drifted off into a sleep induced by her stars.

Bakura nodded and Millennium Ring glowing, opened a portal back into Seto's mansion and led the way, closing it when everyone was through. "Is Maria okay?" Yugi asked, coming over once all of his armor vanished.

"She's okay, she's just asleep," Seto replied.

"Maria's wings are gone" Ryou pointed out, "but she still has her stars." No sooner than Ryou said that, Maria's stars started glowing, causing everyone to shield their eyes.

"Who are you?" Bakura growled once the light died down at the three new figures in the room.

Hidiyya- (Hid-ee-yhah) roughly translates to present

Madi- (Ma-dee) past

Mustabal- (Moo-sta-ball) future

Ria: Who are the three new people? Are they friends, or enemies? What is your guess? Whoever gets it right gets a plushie of their favorite bishie in their armor.


End file.
